YANKEE-SWANSON 

CHAPTERS  FROM  A  LIFE 

AT  SEA 


m 
II 


'   •    •    IHfiB 


A.W.  NELSON  - 


YANKEE   SWANSON 


UNIT.  OF  CALIF.  LIBRARY.  LOS  ANGELES 


CAPTAIN  A.  W.  NELSON. 


/  s 


YANKEE   SWANSON 

CHAPTERS  FROM 
A    LIFE   AT   SEA 


BY 

CAPTAIN  A.  W.  NELSON 


Tlew  HJotfc 

STURGIS  &  WALTON 

COMPANY 

1917 


COPYRIGHT,  191S 

BT  STURG1S  &  WALTON  COMPANY 
Set  up  and  Electrotyped.    Published.  September,  1913 
Reprinted.  April,  1917 


TO  MY  DAUGHTER 
ELNA  IRENE  NELSON  BISCHOFF 

IN  MEMORY  OF  HER  CHILDHOOD 
DAYS-SO  VERY  HAPPY  AND 
DEAR  TO  US  BOTH— I  IN- 
SCRIBE THIS  BOOK 

which  will  recall  to  her  and  to  me 
the  times  when,  at  home  in  the  inter- 
vals of  long  cruises,  my  chief  amuse- 
ment consisted  in  telling  her  stories, 
as  she  sat  on  my  knee,  of  my  ad- 
ventures at  sea,  especially  those  of  my 
first  voyage,  wherein  the  experiences 
of  Yankee  Swanson,  the  cook,  Jack 
Le  Fevre,  and  others  called  forth 
terror,  laughter,  or  tears  as  her  ten- 
der heart  and  vivid  imagination  made 
her  live  through  all  that  I  related. 


2132195 


PKEFACE 

IN  the  following  pages  I  have  endeavored  to  give  the 
reader  a  correct  idea  of  sea  life  such  as  I  myself  ex- 
perienced thirty-five  years  ago.  The  sort  of  life  which 
I  have  tried  to  portray  will  in  a  few  years  be  a  thing  of 
the  past;  in  fact,  even  now  sailing  vessels  are  scarce,  and 
with  the  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal  it  is  generally 
conceded  that  they  will  be  doomed  to  the  scrap-heap,  and 
that  with  them  will  also  disappear  such  conditions  as  I 
have  tried  to  describe. 

Sea  stories  as  a  rule  are  interesting,  especially  to  land- 
lubbers, and  the  libraries  are  full  of  such  works;  but  as 
the  majority  of  them  are  written  by  people  who  know  very 
little  about  the  real  sea  life  and  never  had  any  actual  ex- 
perience of  it,  it  follows  that,  no  matter  how  able  the 
writer,  the  story  in  itself  is  devoid  of  or  lacking  in  what 
I  might  call  salt  sea  air. 

For  many  years,  commencing  with  my  boyhood  days,  I 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  keeping  a  diary  wherein  I  made 
notes  of  things  that  happened  on  shipboard,  this  with  the 
object  in  view  of  writing  a  book  at  some  future  time.  My 
grandfather,  ninety  years  old  when  I  left  home,  was  in  a 
way  instrumental  in  starting  me  to  keep  a  diary,  he  having 
kept  one  during  ten  years  of  campaigning  with  Napoleon, 
and  he  very  often  expressed  a  wish  to  be  able  to  make 
use  of  his  notes  to  write  a  book.  Hence  my  idea  of  writ- 
ing- 
Some  time  ago,  when  I  decided  to  make  use  of  my  diary 
for  writing,  I  intended  to  cram  my  whole  thirty-six  years' 
experience  into  one  story.  This  I  found  was  too  much 


PREFACE 

for  me;  my  notes  fairly  bewildered  me.  I  pondered  over 
the  situation  for  some  time  and  made  several  attempts, 
but  somehow  it  did  not  look  right,  the  main  reason  being 
that  I  shifted  from  one  important  period  to  another,  some- 
times years  apart,  leaving  out  all  minor  details.  I  finally 
decided  to  confine  myself  to  one  cruise  at  a  time,  and 
selected  my  first  voyage  at  sea  as  the  main  subject  of  my 
story,  not  on  account  of  any  particular  occurrence,  but 
that  it  was  under  the  eye  of  the  hero  of  my  story,  Yankee 
Swanson,  first  mate,  that  I  was  taught  to  be  a  sailor. 
Yankee  Swanson  was  a  man  whom  I  have  always  looked 
upon  as  the  very  embodiment  of  what  a  good  sailor  and  of- 
ficer should  be  under  trying  and  at  times  desperate  condi- 
tions. 

Another  reason  why  I  selected  my  first  voyage,  was  my 
desire  to  make  the  reader  acquainted  with  my  friend  and 
shipmate  Jack  Le  Fevre,  at  present  a  successful  man  of 
affairs  in  Sweden,  whom  I  have  in  a  small  way  been  in- 
strumental in  giving  a  fair  start  in  life. 

My  grandfather  plays  an  important  part  throughout 
the  story,  and  I  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  trying  to 
portray  what  sort  of  a  character  he  was.  It  was  his  up- 
permost wish  that  I  should  remember  everything  he  told 
me  about  ISTapoleon,  he  having  in  view  that  perhaps  in  the 
future  I  would  be  able  to  flatly  contradict  Napoleon's  de- 
tractors, my  grandfather  having  been  an  eyewitness  to 
many  noble  deeds  of  the  Emperor. 

With  these  objects  in  view  I  went  to  work,  and  the  re- 
sult is  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  feeble  effort  of  a 
sailor  to  put  on  paper  what  he  has  actually  experienced  on 
land  and  sea. 

A.  W.  K 


INTKODUCTION 

To  most  of  us  the  sea  is  an  adventure  to  which  we  gladly 
go  and  from  which  we  return  with  relief.  To  others  it 
is  romance,  vaguely  enticing,  dimly  alluring,  always  main- 
taining its  distance.  To  Captain  Nelson  the  sea  is  a 
place  where  men  are  bred,  toil,  live,  struggle  and  so  reach 
their  desired  haven.  Just  as  the  citizen  of  New  York  or 
of  Boston  or  of  San  Francisco  is  interested  in  his 
"  home  " —  its  politics,  prosperity  and  society  —  so  the 
writer  of  these  open  pages  speaks  of  the  seven  seas.  His 
politics  are  those  of  ships,  lines,  seamen;  the  prosperity 
that  he  labours  for  has  to  do  with  huge  arcs  of  latitude 
and  the  society  that  he  knows  is  world-wide. 

Innumerable  others  have  written  of  the  sea.  But  here 
we  have  the  straightforward  tale  of  a  man  writing  on  the 
sea.  I  know  of  no  writer  who  has  so  completely  laid 
before  us  a  picture  of  a  society  and  a  life  which  is  by 
itself  and  wholly  apart  from  what  we  call  our  world. 
We  are  taught  that  the  continent  of  North  America  is 
bounded  on  the  East  by  the  Atlantic  and  on  the  West  by 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  genuine  sailor  —  and  Captain 
Nelson  rose  to  the  command  of  one  of  the  finest  passenger 
liners  in  the  world  —  reverses  this :  for  him  the  Pacific 
Ocean  is  bounded  on  the  North  by  the  Aleuts  and  the 
Pole,  on  the  West  by  Siberia,  Japan,  China,  Siam,  India 
and  the  Malays  and  Africa. 

It  is  the  natural  point  of  view  and  I  venture  to  assert 
that  in  no  book  of  my  acquaintance  has  this  been  kept  so 
perfectly  as  here. 

Inevitably  the  true  seaman  partakes  of  the  simplicity 


INTRODUCTION 

of  his  environment.  He  is  strong,  capable,  enduring  and 
with  his  eyes  always  fixed  on  the  horizon.  Yet  nothing 
will  so  develop  the  peculiarities  of  a  character  as  the  en- 
forced loneliness  and  ofttimes  hardship  of  a  life  whose 
activities  and  associations  are  limited  to  a  ship.  Only 
such  intensification  of  daily  thought  and  labour  could  pro- 
duce men  of  the  type  of  the  indefatigable  and  mendacious 
cook ;  the  alert  and  self-sufficient  Yankee  Swanson  or  any 
of  the  other  numerous  and  delightful  characters  in  this 
book. 

Most  of  all  Captain  Nelson  has  put  into  our  hands  an 
invaluable  document.  In  an  age  when  we  go  about  ask- 
ing, What  does  it  all  mean?  and,  Where  will  it  all  end? 
He  shows  us  the  careers  of  men  who  saw  their  goal  and 
went  towards  it  with  simple  energy  and  nai've  faith.  No 
one  can  follow  him  long  before  he  will  realise  that  the 
civilisation  and  culture  of  the  sea  are  different  from  ours ; 
that  the  seafarer  has  other  virtues  than  those  we  boast 
and  that  his  vices  are  what  we  would  call  weakness  in 
ourselves. 

Wholly  apart  from  this  implicit  interest  the  narrative 
runs  briskly  along,  carrying  us  through  seas  and  storms 
and  into  harbours  and  ports  which  we  visit  with  eager- 
ness, dwell  in  for  the  moment  with  delight  and  leave  with 
romantic  regret.  Within  the  first  few  pages  we  are  mem- 
bers of  the  crew  and  thenceforth,  by  his  simple  good  faith 
and  realism,  we  are  seafarers  ourselves.  The  book  has 
the  classic  interest  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  It  must  be  ac- 
cepted by  the  reader  as  it  is ;  one  must  yield  oneself  sim- 
ply to  its  flow  and  I  warrant  you  that  at  the  end  you  will 
have  made  acquaintance  with  men  never  to  be  forgotten 
and  often  to  be  recalled  with  pleasure  and  quick  pulse. 

JOHN  FLEMING  WILSON". 


YANKEE  SWANSON 


I  WAS  born  in  a  small  village  called  Hoganas,  situated 
in  the  southern  part  of  Sweden.  This  place  is  lo- 
cated on  the  coast  of  The  Sound  of  Helsingor  and  is  not 
far  from  Copenhagen,  which  is  on  the  Danish  side  of  The 
Sound.  The  scenery  around  our  place  was  at  all  times, 
summer  and  winter,  of  the  grandest  description.  We  had 
an  unobstructed  view  of  the  whole  sound,  and  the  not 
very  distant  shore  of  Denmark  which,  during  the  summer 
time,  was  resplendent  with  the  foliage  peculiar  to  that 
northern  land.  And  in  the  winter  time  when  the  country 
was  covered  with  a  mantle  of  snow,  and  the  sound  was 
frozen  over  from  side  to  side  so  that  we  were  enabled  to 
cross  it  with  our  heavy  wagons,  the  scenery  was  no  less 
beautiful.  The  sport  we  had  on  the  ice  with  our  skates, 
skis,  and  iceboats  can  only  be  appreciated  by  people 
brought  up  under  similar  circumstances. 

My  father,  Jons  Nilsson,  was  the  happy  owner  of  a 
farm  that  had  been  in  our  family  for  centuries,  and  had 
been  handed  down  from  father  to  son,  the  eldest  being 
always  considered  the  heir  to  the  property.  In  our  fam- 
ily there  were  three  boys  and  three  girls,  and  at  the  present 
time  of  writing  we  are  all  alive,  the  boys  in  America 
and  the  girls  at  home  in  Sweden. 

Education  was  compulsory  even  then  in  Sweden,  but 


2  YANKEE    SWANSON 

was  of  a  meagre  character  and  cannot  be  compared  to  the 
education  received  in  the  common  schools  of  America  or 
Sweden  to-day. 

My  oldest  brother,  Nils,  whom  my  father  looked  upon 
as  his  worthy  successor,  did  not  like  the  idea  of  being  a 
farmer.  He  preferred  the  roving  life  of  a  sailor.  He 
was  very  ambitious  and  had  decided  to  work  his  way  up 
to  the  command  of  a  vessel,  which  he  did,  and  of  which 
I  will  have  something  to  say  later  on.  This  move  on  my 
brother's  part  caused  my  father  to  look  upon  me  as  his 
successor  on  the  farm.  What  that  meant  to  me  I  will  try 
to  explain  to  the  reader : 

Up  to  eight  years  of  age  it  had  been  understood  among 
the  members  of  my  family  that  I  was  either  to  be  a  sailor 
or  a  soldier,  as  I  had  always  expressed  my  preference  for 
one  or  the  other.  The  reason  was  due  to  my  love  for 
books  of  adventure  and  travel,  which  were  perused  by  me 
eagerly.  Those  that  interested  me  most  were  the  books 
concerning  the  life  and  career  of  Napoleon  and  of  Ad- 
miral Nelson.  In  pursuit  of  my  love  for  books  of  this 
character  I  was  greatly  encouraged  and  aided  by  my  grand- 
father, who  was  a  veteran  of  the  Napoleonic  wars.  He 
had  served  through  several  campaigns,  notably  the  Rus- 
sian of  1812. 

The  old  man  would  never  cease  talking  of  Napoleon 
and  Nelson,  especially  "  Old  Nap,"  as  he  called  Napoleon, 
and  he  was  fond  of  relating  tales  regarding  both  great 
men.  One  incident  that  occurred  at  the  Berezina  River 
he  was  especially  fond  of  relating.  Napoleon  had  ordered 
my  grandfather  to  perform  some  military  duty,  which 
was  done  evidently  to  his  entire  satisfaction  as  he  pre- 
sented him  with  a  twenty  franc  piece  as  an  indication  of 
approval  of  his  work.  Grandfather  also  had  a  snuff  box 
that  he  obtained  in  Moscow,  and  every  time  he  took  a 
pinch  of  snuff  he  thought  of  Napoleon  and  the  terrible 


YANKEE    SWANSON  3 

hardships  they  had  gone  through  in  that  Russian  cam- 
paign. 

I  shall  always  consider  the  times  I  spent  sitting  on  my 
grandfather's  knee  listening  to  his  campaign  tales,  as  the 
happiest  moments  of  my  life.  I  am  the  happy  owner  of 
the  snuff  box  and  the  twenty  franc  piece,  and  I  never 
look  at  them  without  giving  the  old  man  a  thought.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  "  Old  Nap  "  comes  in  for  a  share  of  my 
thoughts,  too. 

When  my  father  decided  that  I  should  stay  at  home 
and  become  a  farmer  all  my  hopes  and  ambitions  disap- 
peared, vanished  into  space.  My  disappointment  was 
great,  and  I  felt  my  heart  bursting  at  the  great  blow  to 
my  future  aims.  I  well  knew  that  objections  were  of  no 
use  so  far  as  my  father  was  concerned,  for  his  word  was 
law  to  us.  I  therefore  decided  to  consult  my  grandfather 
quietly.  He  listened  patiently  to  my  tale  of  woe,  telling 
me  not  to  take  it  too  much  to  heart;  that  I  was  still  too 
young  to  decide  for  myself  my  future  course  in  life.  He 
advised  me  to  continue  reading  about  our  own  special 
heroes  and  to  trust  in  God.  When  the  time  did  come  for 
me  to  strike  out  for  myself  he  said,  "  Then  go,  and  my 
blessing  with  you,  as  I  know  that  you  are  made  of  the 
right  kind  of  stuff."  He  felt  sure  that  among  strangers 
my  way  would  be  easier  and  better  than  by  sticking  to 
the  old  farm,  and  he  advised  me  to  be  a  sailor,  as  the 
opportunity  for  seeing  the  world  was  greater  by  follow- 
ing the  sea  than  being  a  soldier.  Besides,  Sweden  was 
only  a  sixth  rate  power,  and  war  at  that  time  being  on 
the  decline  and  unpopular  throughout  Europe,  the  chances 
for  a  young  man  to  make  his  way  in  the  army  were  not 
what  they  used  to  be  under  a  leader  like  Napoleon,  who 
never  missed  an  opportunity  of  advancing  any  one,  pro- 
vided he  had  ambition.  "  Yes,  my  boy,"  grandfather 
would  say,  "  those  were  stirring  times ;  but  the  '  Grande 


4>  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Armee '  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  Its  members  are  getting 
very  scarce ;  I  am  one  of  the  last  ones,  and  the  only  com- 
fort left  me  is  the  memory  of  past  deeds,  and  to  have  you, 
my  boy,  such  an  attentive  listener.  But  the  future  is 
before  you,  and  if  you  will  only  bear  in  mind  what  I 
have  so  often  told  you,  '  to  be  a  man  at  all  times  and  tell 
the  truth  regardless  of  consequences/  you  will  be  all  right, 
and  always  come  out  on  top." 

I  promised  the  old  man  that  I  would  try  to  live  up  to 
his  teaching  the  best  I  knew  how.  With  that  promise  he 
seemed  pleased,  and  before  I  left  him  he  had  me  laughing 
by  telling  me  some  little  episode  of  the  war  in  which  his 
record  was  very  creditable,  but  which  he  did  not  think 
extraordinary  as  it  was  an  every-day  occurrence  in  the 
"  Grande  Armee."  He  then  gently  hinted  that  at  some 
other  time  he  would  tell  me  something  more  interesting. 
This  being  a  signal  of  dismissal,  I  kissed  him  good-bye, 
and  went  home  satisfied  in  my  own  mind  that  by  doing 
what  grandfather  bade  me  do  things  would  come  out  all 
right. 

After  what  I  have  related  took  place,  nothing  more  was 
said  about  what  I  was  going  to  do  when  I  got  big.  Every- 
body knew  it  was  a  delicate  subject  with  me.  I  kept  my 
own  counsel.  Grand'father  undoubtedly  had  requested 
the  family  to  not  mention  the  subject  again.  I  never 
grumbled  about  the  work  to  be  done  around  the  farm, 
therefore  everybody  thought  I  had  become  reconciled  to 
being  a  farmer,  which  opinion  I  never  attempted  to 
change,  simply  letting  matters  take  their  own  course. 

In  this  fashion  several  years  slipped  by,  happily  enough, 
until  one  day  my  mother  told  me  that  father  was  in  some 
financial  trouble,  due  to  his  having  been  surety  for  a 
tailor  in  town  who  had  been  owing  a  large  sum  of  money 
and  had  gone  bankrupt.  Father  had  to  make  good  the 
money,  which  necessitated  his  selling  a  large  part  of  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  5 

farm.  The  remainder  would  not  be  sufficient  to  keep  us 
all  in  bread  and  butter.  So  my  father  told  me  one  day 
that  if  I  still  entertained  the  thought  of  becoming  a  sailor 
he  would  place  no  obstacles  in  my  path  or  influence  me  in 
any  way.  He  had  long  cherished  the  hope  that  one  of 
his  sons  would  take  over  the  farm,  as  had  been  done  for 
all  these  many  years.  But  now  that  things  had  turned 
out  as  they  had,  it  would  be  much  better  to  go  elsewhere 
to  look  for  a  livelihood. 

Upon  hearing  my  father  talk  in  this  strain,  I  felt  very 
much  distressed,  not  on  account  of  myself  but  on  account 
of  him  and  my  mother  and  sisters,  also  a  younger  brother, 
who  were  unable  to  support  themselves.  I  told  him  that 
I  was  more  than  willing  to  strike  out  for  myself  any  time, 
much  more  so  now  since  circumstances  pointed  in  a  di- 
rection which  it  seemed  my  duty  to  follow.  In  that  case, 
if  Fortune  favoured  me,  I  should  be  able  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  if  needed.  This  was  more  than  my  father  could 
stand.  The  tears  came  to  his  eyes,  and  as  he  embraced 
me  he  gave  me  to  understand  that  he  was  more  than 
recompensed  for  the  loss  of  his  money  in  having  a  son 
who  was  willing  to  help  shoulder  the  burden  that  he  felt 
already  was  more  than  he  could  carry. 

I  now  hastened  to  grandpa  to  give  him  the  good  news 
—  not  the  bad  —  regarding  the  money  matter,  and  found 
the  old  man  and  his  wife  almost  hugging  the  stove.  It 
was  winter  and  the  weather  was  bitterly  cold.  Grandpa 
was  not  long  discerning  that  something  unusual  had  taken 
place,  and  the  first  words  he  said  after  I  had  greeted  him 
were  these,  "  Hello,  son,  what  is  up  ?  Have  you  got  a 
new  book  about  old  Napoleon?  You  look  so  happy. 
Come  and  sit  down.  I  have  something  I  want  to  tell  you. 
We  won't  talk  '  Nap '  and  Waterloo  to-night.  It  makes 
me  sad  and  I  can  see  that  you  are  happy.  I  would  like  to 
keep  you  in  that  state  the  remainder  of  the  time  I  am  with 


6  YANKEE    SWANSON 

you.  It  will  not  be  for  long,  my  boy;  I  feel  it  in  my 
bones ;  the  old  machine  has  done  its  work.  I  am  now  past 
ninety  and  have  no  kick  coming.  The  only  thing  that 
.worries  me  is  that  I  still  see  you  working  yourself  half  to 
death  on  the  old  farm  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  you  should 
be  away  from  here,  out  on  the  '  briny,'  trying  to  make  a 
name  for  yourself." 

After  a  lot  of  talk  of  that  sort  I  found  it  very  easy  to 
break  the  news.  When  I  had  finished  what  I  had  to  say 
grandfather  was  overjoyed,  and  declared  that  it  was  the 
best  piece  of  news  he  had  heard  since  the  battle  of  Aus- 
terlitz.  And,  as  if  to  add  more  force  to  what  he  said,  he 
got  up  and  went  to  his  old  box-trunk  and  took  out  the 
Moscow  snuff  box  and  the  twenty  franc  piece.  After 
admiring  them  for  some  time  he  handed  them  to  me  with 
the  request  that  I  should  ever  cherish  them,  not  so  much 
on  account  of  their  having  belonged  to  him  but  rather  for 
the  circumstances  under  which  he  had  obtained  them.  He 
referred,  of  course,  to  the  incident  of  the  Berezina  River 
and  the  campaign  of  1812.  I  promised  to  comply  with 
his  wishes  and  stowed  my  heirlooms  away  in  my  pocket, 
with  a  profusion  of  thanks,  after  which  we  discussed  ways 
and  means. 

This  was  in  the  month  of  March,  1877,  and  I  was  thir- 
teen years  of  age,  having  been  born  on  the  5th  of  January, 
1864.  My  eldest  brother  had  then  been  at  sea  several 
years  and  was  an  able  seaman  on  a  little  barque  belonging 
to  our  place  and  commanded  by  a  distant  relative  named 
Captain  Bengston.  I  told  my  grandfather  that  I  was 
thinking  of  writing  my  brother,  requesting  him  to  speak 
to  Captain  Bengston  to  get  me  a  place  as  boy.  The  old 
man  did  not  approve  of  my  plan.  Evidently  he  thought 
I  would  be  much  better  off  among  strangers.  But  my 
father  and  mother  approved  of  my  choice,  as  they  thought 
it  would  be  the  only  way  to  make  a  start  with  any  show 


YANKEE    SWANSON  7 

of  success.  Accordingly  I  wrote  to  my  brother  about  it 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  received  an  answer  from 
Captain  Bengston,  stating  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Scot- 
land with  a  load  of  lumber  from  some  little  port  on  the 
Baltic  Sea,  and  that  he  would  anchor  off  our  place  and 
take  me  on.  This  would  cause  no  delay  as  he  had  to 
take  on  provisions  at  the  same  time.  Captain  Bengston 
gave  the  approximate  day  when  to  expect  the  vessel 
(Forsette  was  her  name),  and  as  it  was  only  a  matter  of 
a  few  weeks  I  became  very  busy  getting  my  things  ready 
for  a  sea  voyage  that  was  expected  to  last  over  summer. 
The  Forsette  as  a  rule  tied  up  at  our  port  for  the  winter 
months. 

Our  farm  was  located  about  two  miles  from  the  sea- 
shore and  the  dwelling  house  was  surrounded  by  a  number 
of  trees,  some  of  them  very  tall.  By  climbing  one  of 
them  I  could  get  a  very  good  view  of  The  Sound,  as  well 
as  the  surrounding  country.  When  the  time  approached 
for  the  vessel  to  arrive  I  almost  became  a  squirrel,  as 
grandfather  expressed  it.  I  must  have  made  a  trip  to 
the  top  of  that  tree  every  hour  for  several  days  before 
there  was  any  chance  of  that  ship  arriving.  But  such 
was  my  anxiety  and  fear  of  getting  left  that  I  took  no 
chances  of  her  passing  without  my  knowing  something 
about  it. 


II 

AT  last,  one  fine  Sunday  morning  I  sighted  from  my 
lookout  tree  the  old  ship  beating  her  way  up  against 
a  fresh  northerly  breeze  to  the  anchorage  off  our  little 
port  (Hoganas).  She  had  everything  set  and  the  sun  was 
shining  on  the  sails.  She  had  a  "  big  bone  "  in  her  teeth, 
which  made  her  look  very  saucy.  Becoming  excited  at 
the  appearance  of  the  ship  I  came  down  from  the  tree  all 
out  of  breath,  reporting  her  to  my  father  and  suggesting 
that  we  had  better  go  down  to  the  wharf  at  once.  Father 
said  there  was  no  hurry,  because  the  wind  was  from  the 
north  and  she  would  not  sail  again  until  the  wind  became 
fair.  And  besides,  the  captain  would  be  sure  to  come  on 
shore  to  have  a  chat  with  the  owner  of  the  vessel  over 
business  matters  before  he  sailed.  My  father  informed  me 
that  if  I  was  so  anxious  he  had  no  objection  to  my  going 
to  the  wharf,  as  he  was  sure  my  brother  Nils  would  come 
ashore  on  the  first  boat. 

Without  further  hesitation  I  ran  to  the  house  to  get 
my  good  clothes  on.  While  dressing  I  pondered  upon  the 
proper  headgear  to  wear.  Putting  on  a  brand  new  sou'- 
wester which  grandpa  had  given  me,  I  stood  before  the 
mirror  admiring  myself.  It  looked  first  class  and  in  ship- 
shape, but  somehow  I  felt  uneasy  and  discarded  it  for  a 
straw  hat.  Afterward  I  was  glad  I  had  done  so,  as  my 
brother  told  me  the  crew  would  have  ridiculed  me  cruelly 
if  they  had  seen  it. 

When  I  reached  the  wharf  the  Forsette  was  at  anchor 
about  a  mile  from  the  beach.  Some  of  the  men  were  still 

aloft  furling  the  sails  and  others  were  getting  a  boat  into 

8 


YANKEE    SWANSON  9 

the  water.  Seated  on  a  box  I  awaited  developments. 
Soon  the  small  boat  put  off  from  the  ship  and  came  along- 
side the  wharf.  Captain  Bengston  was  steering  and  my 
brother  was  pulling  the  stroke  oar.  Making  the  boat 
fast,  all  hands  came  ashore  and  then  began  a  general 
handshaking  all  around  between  the  sailors  and  towns- 
people who  had  sauntered  down  to  the  wharf  to  meet  the 
newcomers. 

My  brother  was  glad  to  see  me  and  enquired  about  all  the 
folks  and  a  great  many  other  things  as  we  walked  toward 
home.  He  hinted  now  and  again  that  he  did  not  approve 
of  my  going  on  board  the  old  hulk,  as  she  was  rotten  and 
leaking  like  a  basket.  I  begged  him  as  a  favour  not  to 
say  anything  about  it  to  anybody,  because  I  had  made  up 
my  mind  to  go  if  she  could  only  keep  afloat  until  I  got  on 
board  of  her.  This  he  promised  to  do,  but  he  cautioned 
me  not  to  blame  him  if  anything  happened.  With  that 
we  approached  the  house,  where  we  found  all  the  members 
of  the  family  assembled  to  greet  my  brother. 

We  spent  a  pleasant  Sunday,  which  was  to  be  the  last 
for  many  a  day  to  come.  Captain  Bengston  and  his  wife 
called  during  the  evening.  The  captain  was  quietly  ob- 
serving me  all  the  time,  ultimately  stating  that  the  voyage 
would  be  no  joke.  As  for  money  matters  that  de- 
pended on  myself;  on  how  much  I  could  do,  and  how 
quick  I  would  be  to  learn.  The  more  I  could  do  and  the 
quicker  I  could  master  things  the  better  it  would  be  for 
me.  I  thought  I  understood  the  conditions  perfectly  well, 
but  alas !  my  imagination  was  greater  than  my  judgment. 

The  next  day,  the  wind  coming  from  the  south  caused 
Captain  Bengston  to  be  a  busy  man  getting  his  crackers 
and  salt  horse  aboard  of  the  barque.  Having  said  good- 
bye to  my  family,  father  hitched  the  horse  to  the  buggy 
and  took  my  trunk  down  to  the  wharf  where  it  was  put 
into  the  boat.  By  and  by  the  skipper  announced  that  he 


10  YANKEE    SWANSON 

was  ready.  Then  the  boys  fell  to  with  a  will,  as  they 
were  anxious  to  get  out  to  sea  before  dark. 

After  the  small  boat  was  hoisted  on  board  it  did  not 
take  very  long  to  get  her  under  weigh,  the  first  officer 
having  her  hove  short  and  the  lower  topsails  sheeted  home 
before  we  got  alongside,  evidently  anticipating  an  order  of 
that  sort.  Shortly  afterward  an  order  was  given  to  man 
the  windlass,  in  which  everybody  took  part,  the  skipper 
taking  the  wheel.  After  a  good  deal  of  heaving,  and  con- 
siderable more  swearing,  the  anchor  was  broke  out  of 
the  ground,  the  foreyards  braced  back  on  the  port  brace 
and  she  started  to  swing  around  on  her  heel  very  grace- 
fully and  gather  headway.  The  carpenter  went  aft  to 
relieve  the  skipper  at  the  wheel  while  the  mate  and  all 
hands  were  busy  securing  the  anchor  and  setting  every 
stitch  of  canvas  she  could  carry. 

Being  very  much  occupied  I  did  not  have  time  to  take 
a  look  at  the  old  place.  The  wind  had  in  the  meantime 
increased  to  a  strong  breeze,  kicking  up  a  nasty,  choppy 
sea  that  made  me  feel  very  uncomfortable.  The  old  ship 
herself  was  no  better  off.  I  thought,  as  she  creaked  and 
groaned  under  the  pressure  of  her  sails  she  seemed  to  be 
in  misery,  and  to  be  doing  her  utmost  to  no  purpose. 

Several  vessels  went  by  us  as  though  we  had  been  at 
anchor.  One  of  them  was  a  three-masted,  full-rigged  ship 
that  looked  very  beautiful.  My  brother  told  me  that  she 
was  a  Yankee  clipper.  She  had  three  skysails  and  several 
stunsails  set,  and  the  appearance  she  presented  was  very 
inspiring,  from  a  sailonnan's  point  of  view.  I  heard  the 
captain  say  she  was  logging  fourteen  knots  per  hour. 

Late  that  evening  the  captain  took  me  down  to  the  cabin 
and  pointed  out  a  little  hole  just  back  of  his  own  room 
and  told  me  that  that  was  where  I  was  to  sleep.  He  also 
gave  instructions  to  the  mate  that,  for  the  present,  I  should 
be  allowed  to  sleep  all  night.  And  as  for  work  he  thought 


YANKEE    SWANSON  11 

I  should  be  at  the  beck  and  call  of  every  man  on  board, 
because  from  long  experience  he  had  found  that  method 
a  most  excellent  one  for  training  young  seamen. 

The  mate  suggested  that  I  should  assist  the  cook  for  a 
few  days  until  I  got  the  hang  of  things,  and  afterward 
become  of  use  on  the  deck.  The  skipper  did  not  approve 
of  the  mate's  idea.  He  said  he  was  afraid  the  temptation 
of  overeating  or  doing  myself  harm  by  coming  in  contact 
with  so  many  good  things  to  eat  would  be  too  great  by 
allowing  me  to  fraternise  with  the  cook.  The  mate  burst 
out  laughing  and  said: 

"  The  very  idea  of  anything  like  that  occurring  on  the 
Forsette  is  a  joke." 

"  How  so  ?  "  said  the  skipper. 

"  On  account  of  the  reputation  you  were  so  fortunate 
to  get  last  summer,"  the  mate  replied. 

"  You  are  alluding  to  the  fellow  who  became  sick  and 
died  after  I  took  him  to  the  hospital  ? "  answered  the 
skipper. 

"  The  same  one !  "  replied  the  mate.  "  The  doctor  told 
me  he  was  too  far  gone  with  starvation  for  medicine  to 
have  any  effect  on  him." 

Seven  bells  having  struck,  the  mate  left  abruptly  and 
I  heard  him  give  orders  to  pump  ship.  I  crawled  into 
my  bunk  and  tried  to  sleep,  but  somehow  I  found  I  was 
not  sleepy,  neither  was  I  hungry.  I  had  eaten  nothing 
since  leaving  home.  I  cannot  say  I  was  sick,  still  I  was 
not  feeling  anything  extra.  I  certainly  felt  out  of  place, 
and  longed  for  the  day  to  come  when  I  would  be  able  to 
do  my  work  and  not  be  obliged  to  listen  to  a  lot  of  foolish 
talk  regarding  what  would  be  best  for  me  to  do.  How 
long  I  lay  awake  thinking  I  do  not  know,  but  I  did  have 
a  long  refreshing  sleep.  My  brother  came  down  to  see 
me  early  next  morning,  and  taking  me  forward  handed 
me  a  cup  of  coffee  and  some  hard-bread,  which  I  enjoyed 


13  YANKEE    SWANSON 

first  rate.  The  mate  came  along  in  a  swaggering  way 
and  asked  if  I  was  ready  to  go  to  work.  I  answered  that 
I  was  willing  to  try.  He  took  me  aft  to  his  room  and 
pointed  out  a  number  of  things  lying  loose  and  told  me  to 
find  a  place  for  them,  and  after  that  to  sweep  out  the  room 
and  tidy  it  up.  "  When  you  have  finished  that  I  guess 
we  will  find  something  else  for  you  to  do.  And  bear  in 
mind,"  he  said,  "  whenever  I  tell  you  to  do  anything  do  it 
quickly,  do  it  the  best  you  can,  and  you  will  find  me  a 
friend."  I  thanked  him  for  interesting  himself  to  that 
extent  in  my  behalf.  He  nodded  his  head  and  left  me 
to  my  task. 

As  this  friend  of  mine  will  appear  throughout  this 
story  it  will  be  necessary  to  get  a  little  better  acquainted 
with  him. 

Mr.  Swanson  was  by  no  means  a  rough,  ordinary  sailor. 
Rough  he  was  in  appearance,  to  be  sure,  and  rough  in 
his  language  toward  any  one  who  had  to  work  under  him. 
More  so  if  things  did  not  go  right.  But  further  than 
that  his  roughness  did  not  extend.  He  was  at  heart  a 
good,  honest  man,  about  forty-five  years  of  age.  He  stood 
six  feet  two  inches  in  his  stocking  feet ;  was  muscular  and 
active  as  a  cat.  He  was  born  in  Hb'ganas,  where  his 
father  had  been  a  fisherman,  but  on  account  of  his  father's 
cruelty  he  ran  away  from  home  at  an  early  age. 

For  years  nobody  knew  or  cared  what  had  become  of 
the  boy.  Owing  to  the  father's  neglect  the  boy  never 
had  a  day's  schooling  and  did  not  know  how  to  write. 
But  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  having  served  in  Ameri- 
can ships,  he  mastered  the  English  language.  And  being 
studious  by  nature  he  had,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
friendly  captain,  acquired  sufficient  knowledge  to  enable 
him  to  fill  the  then  very  important  position  of  second 
officer  on  a  California  clipper  called  the  Flying  Scud. 

He  had  continued  to  serve  in  the  merchant  service  until 


YANKEE    SWANSON  13 

the  Civil  War  broke  out,  when  he  joined  the  United  States 
Navy  as  a  volunteer  and  was  with  Farragut  at  Mobile, 
and  other  engagements.  Years  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
having  accumulated  a  little  capital,  he  went  back  to  his 
old  home,  not  with  the  intention  of  staying  there,  but  just 
to  make  a  call.  "  As  bad  luck  would  have  it,"  he  would 
say,  "  I  fell  in  love  and  that  is  how  I  came  to  be  mate  on 
the  Forsette." 

I  am  sure  he  was  out  of  place  on  board  this  craft,  as 
he  undoubtedly  possessed  great  experience  and  ability. 
After  we  became  better  acquainted  he  would  tell  me  funny 
stories  and  his  experiences  as  second  officer  on  the  Cali- 
fornia clippers  and  during  the  Civil  War.  Some  of  these 
experiences  were  blood-curdling.  When  I  expressed  an 
unfavourable  opinion  regarding  some  of  his  actions  he 
would  say,  "  But  I  had  to  do  it,  my  boy,  otherwise  they 
would  have  done  me." 

I  asked  him  once  how  he  could  content  himself  with 
playing  second  fiddle  to  his  brother-in-law.  (Captain 
Bengston  and  Mr.  Swanson  married  sisters.)  Mr.  Swan- 
son  had  always  commanded  good  wages  and  now  he  was 
working  for  a  paltry  sum  and  had  employment  only  six 
months  in  the  year.  He  told  me  that  it  was  on  account 
of  his  wife,  who  had  a  very  bad  opinion  of  America. 

"  When  this  cruise  is  over  I  will  speak  to  her  once 
more,"  he  said,  "  and  perhaps  I  will  be  able  to  make  her 
come  with  me.  If  not,  I  will  go  it  alone.  Life  is  too 
short  to  waste  any  of  it  on  this  old  craft.  Therefore,  I 
want  you  to  take  my  advice  and  look  alive  while  you  are 
here  with  me.  I  will  make  a  sailor  of  you,  and  when 
this  cruise  is  ended  I  will  guarantee  you  will  be  able  to 
take  care  of  yourself  in  any  Yankee  packet  that  ever 
floated." 

One  day  when  I  was  putting  his  room  in  order  I  found 
among  his  belongings  a  pair  of  boxing  gloves.  Never 


14  YANKEE    SWANSON 

having  seen  anything  like  them  before  of  course  I  did 
not  know  their  use.  While  looking  at  them,  Mr.  Swanson 
came  in  to  light  his  pipe.  He  started  to  laugh  when  I 
asked  him  what  they  were  for.  He  told  me  that  the  cap- 
tain expected  to  make  a  trip  to  Archangel,  in  Russia, 
from  Scotland,  and  as  the  weather  there  is  extremely  cold, 
necessitating  the  wearing  of  thick,  heavy  gloves,  he  had 
overhauled  his  trunk  to  make  sure  that  his  wife  had  not 
forgotten  to  put  them  in.  I  said  something  about  them 
not  being  very  warm,  having  tried  one  of  them  on.  He 
informed  me  that  that  was  a  mistake  as  he  had  seen  men. 
who  had  had  them  on  and  had  got  overheated.  One  man 
in  particular  did  not  come  to  for  a  long  time.  I  told  him 
that  if  I  had  known  anything  about  such  gloves  I  would 
have  asked  grandpa  to  get  me  a  pair. 

The  steward  and  cook  on  the  Forsette  was  another 
character,  but  a  different  type  from  the  mate.  He  was 
about  sixty  years  of  age,  and  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
he  had  spent  in  English  coasting  vessels  as  cook.  He  was 
a  braggart,  and  his  only  pleasure  in  life,  now  that  he  was 
an  old  man,  was  to  get  seated  in  some  comfortable  place 
with  some  patient  listener,  and  tell  wonderful  tales  of 
heroic  deeds  and  narrow  escapes. 

One  day  the  old  Forsette  was  rolling  a  great  deal  while 
I  was  busy  in  the  galley  helping  the  cook  to  secure  things 
that  were  rolling  about.  I  innocently  asked  him  if  he 
had  ever  seen  worse  rolling  than  we  were  having  just 
then.  My  query  took  the  old  man's  breath  and  he  seemed 
stunned  for  a  moment.  He  lighted  his  pipe  ajid  nodded 
his  head  as  if  thoroughly  disgusted  with  such  a  foolish 
question.  After  a  time  he  said: 

"You  mentioned  something  about  rolling,  did  you 
not?" 

"Yes,"  I  said. 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you  about  rolling,  but  I  don't  want  you 


YANKEE    SWANSON  15 

to  blab  about  it  to  all  hands  on  the  ship,  as  you  did  about 
the  Duchess  of  Flubdub  that  wanted  to  marry  me  when  I 
was  young.  Some  years  ago  I  was  chief  steward  on  a 
full  rigged  clipper  carrying  coal  from  Newcastle  to  Lon- 
don. One  day  we  got  becalmed  on  the  Dogger  Bank,  in 
the  North  Sea.  There  was  a  heavy  swell  on  that  day 
and  the  rolling  of  the  vessel  and  the  antics  she  cut  up 
made  the  skipper's  hair  stand  on  end.  I  could  not  sleep, 
and  as  the  weather  was  warm  I  took  my  mattress  out, 
putting  it  on  the  main  hatch,  thinking  I  would  be  able 
to  get  a  little  nap  during  the  lulls.  At  times  she  would 
let  up  for  a  few  minutes  then  all  of  a  sudden,  just  as  I 
was  on  the  point  of  dozing  off,  she  would  start  off  worse 
than  ever,  and  I  saw  the  North  Star  through  the  scupper 
holes.  That  was  rolling  some. 

"  Ah,  my  boy,  you  have  not  seen  anything  yet.  As  a 
friend  I  would  not  advise  you  to  take  up  the  steward  or 
cooking  business.  Better  stick  to  the  deck.  It  takes  such 
a  long  time  to  become  an  expert  at  cooking.  It  was  years 
before  they  rated  me  Al.  The  study  of  cook  books  will 
never  do  it.  I  tried  it,  but  it  was  no  use.  Actual  ex- 
perience is  what  tells." 


Ill 

WE  had  now  been  a  week  at  sea,  and  were  only  half 
way  across  the  North  Sea.  The  wind  had  been 
variable  and  light  most  of  the  time.  On  Dogger  Bank  we 
were  becalmed,  and  had  a  visit  from  some  English  fisher- 
men. They  came  alongside  with  their  boat  well  stocked 
with  fish,  which  they  exchanged  for  a  few  bottles  of  Copen- 
hagen brandy. 

The  captain  asked  them  what  prospect  there  was  of  a 
change  in  the  weather,  and  they  told  him  it  would  breeze 
up  from  the  eastward  before  sundown.  This  would  be 
favourable  for  us,  so  the  skipper  put  on  his  Sunday  smile 
and  remarked  to  the  mate  that  we  would  get  in  the  next 
morning. 

"  I  hope  so,"  said  the  mate,  "  as  I  am  getting  tired  of 
it.  My  men  and  I  need  a  rest.  This  business  of  spend- 
ing twelve  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  at  the  pumps  is  no 
snap." 

"  I  am  aware  of  that,"  replied  the  skipper,  "  but  I  do 
not  hire  you  for  the  purpose  of  letting  you  have  a  soft 
snap.  This  business  of  having  soft  snaps  and  luxuries 
at  sea  is  played  out.  If  they  fancy  that  kind  of  thing 
in  your  Yankee  packets  well  and  good,  but  you  have  no 
right  to  expect  that  in  a  North  Sea  trader,  and  I  being 
your  own  brother-in-law." 

A  catspaw  from  the  right  direction  came  along  and  the 
mate  bellowed  out,  "  Lee  fore  braces,  tacks,  and  sheets !  " 
and  numerous  other  orders.  In  a  moment  we  were  slid- 
ing along  at  a  pretty  good  rate,  the  catspaw  having  devel- 
oped into  a  brisk  breeze. 

The  following  morning  we  made  land,  but  owing  to 

16 


YANKEE    SWANSON  17 

some  miscalculation  on  the  part  of  the  navigator,  or  else 
faulty  steering,  we  found  ourselves  many  miles  south  of 
where  we  should  have  been.  On  that  account  the  course 
had  to  be  altered  about  four  points,  and  the  wind  being 
due  east  was  well  on  the  starboard  quarter.  Evidently 
the  old  Forsette  had  on  more  sail  than  was  good  for  her. 
The  cook  said  so,  and  the  skipper  thought  so.  But  he 
wanted  to  hang  on  to  everything  within  reason  so  that  he 
could  make  the  Firth  of  Forth  before  dark,  thereby  get- 
ting a  pilot  on  board  and  a  tugboat  engaged  to  tow  us  up 
to  Grangemouth. 

I  shall  never  forget  that  day.  It  really  was  my  first 
day  of  real  hard  sailing.  I  have  had  many  since  then, 
but  none  left  such  an  impression  as  this  particular  day 
did.  The  wind  blew  steadily  from  the  same  direction, 
and  although  we  had  somewhat  more  of  it  than  was  good 
for  us,  the  prospect  was  such  that  it  would  not  get  worse, 
as  the  sky  was  clear  and  the  barometer  indicated  fine 
weather.  All  hands  were  on  deck,  the  watch  having  been 
called  from  below  to  stand  by,  expecting  every  moment 
that  something  would  give  way.  Besides,  there  was  the 
pumping  to  be  attended  to,  the  leakage  having  increased 
considerably  under  the  heavy  pressure  the  old  craft  was 
subjected  to.  We  were  in  company  of  a  number  of  coast- 
ing vessels,  mostly  British.  The  cook  knew  them  all, 
and  had  served  in  the  greater  part  of  them.  They  were 
also  trying  their  best  to  accomplish  what  we  were  after, 
but  we  held  our  own  in  fine  shape.  I  felt  very  proud 
of  the  Forsette,  and  the  cook  had  to  acknowledge  that  he 
had  seen  worse  sailing,  so  it  must  have  been  pretty  good. 
We  made  the  Firth  of  Forth  late  that  evening  and  got 
a  pilot  on  board.  As  several  tugs  were  outside  looking 
for  jobs,  we  had  no  trouble  in  getting  one  of  them  to 
take  us  in  tow,  although  there  was  considerable  haggling 
about  the  price. 


18  YANKEE    SWANSON 

It  was  quite  dark  by  the  time  the  towing  hawser  was 
belayed,  and  the  tug  started  off  toward  the  entrance  of 
the  Firth.  This  was  a  matter  of  considerable  regret  to 
me,  because  I  was  expecting  to  see  the  scenery  and  com- 
pare it  with  that  of  my  home.  What  I  did  see  was  in- 
teresting. Craft  of  all  kinds  were  moving  up  and  down 
the  Firth.  There  seemed  to  be  no  lack  of  life  on  the 
shore,  and  I  became  amazed  at  the  long  trains  of  freight 
and  passenger  cars  running  in  all  directions.  Such 
sights  were  new  to  me. 

I  was  sitting  in  a  comfortable  place  on  the  deck-load 
of  lumber  enjoying  it  all.  A  new  world  was  opened 
before  my  eyes.  But  my  day  dreams  were  rudely  dis- 
turbed by  the  cook,  who  came  sauntering  along  and  took 
a  seat  beside  me  saying,  "  I  see  you  are  enjoying  the 
sights,  my  boy.  I  used  to  like  these  kind  of  things  my- 
self when  I  was  a  young  man,  but  for  a  man  of  my  years 
they  have  lost  their  charm.  As  a  rule  I  am  very  broad- 
minded  regarding  young  people  —  I  mean  by  that  I  never 
yet  refused  to  take  a  young  fellow  around  a  bit  when  I 
thought  I  could  be  of  some  use  to  him.  I  know  I  have 
been  foolish  at  times,  and  out  of  pocket  too,  by  taking 
them  sightseeing,  which  they  did  not  appreciate.  I  know 
of  two  ungrateful  youngsters  that  I  showed  everything  to 
in  London,  and  then  they  grumbled  about  paying  the  ex- 
penses. I  believe  they  even  begrudged  me  a  few  pots  of 
Dublin  stout  that  they  had  to  pay  for.  When  I  hinted 
that  a  bite  to  eat  before  going  on  board  would  not  be  out 
of  place,  they  almost  fainted.  Just  think  of  it!  Their 
ingratitude  was  beyond  understanding.  I  was  different 
from  that  when  I  was  a  boy.  There  was  nothing  too  good 
for  an  old  sea  dog  when  I  was  around;  more  so  if  I 
thought  I  could  benefit  by  cultivating  their  acquaintance. 
That's  how  I  got  along  so  well.  Although  I  never  liked 


YANKEE    SWANSON  19 

bragging,  I  am  proud  to  say  that  I  am  known  as  the  best 
sea  cook  in  the  whole  British  empire." 

I  could  not  help  laughing  at  his  hints  to  have  a  day 
ashore  at  my  expense.  Yet  he  annoyed  me  very  much  by 
interrupting  my  day  dreams,  as  I  wanted  to  see  all  I 
could.  It  was,  therefore,  a  matter  of  great  delight  to  me 
when  I  heard  the  stentorian  tones  of  the  mate  calling  the 
cook  to  make  some  coffee  for  the  pilot. 

"  And,"  the  mate  added,  "  mind  you  make  coffee,  not 
dishwater." 

After  the  cook  had  gone  to  prepare  the  coffee,  the  mate 
said  to  me,  "  You  had  better  go  and  have  some  sleep,  boy, 
as  you  have  had  a  pretty  busy  day.  I  am  proud  of  the 
way  you  handled  yourself  on  the  royal-yard  this  evening. 
You  did  a  great  deal  better  than  that  fellow  who  is  twice 
your  size."  He  referred  to  another  boy  in  the  fo'cs'le. 
"  I  think  you  can  earn  a  boy's  pay  and  you  shall  have  it." 

I  told  him  what  the  captain  had  promised  my  father. 

"  That  part  of  it  is  all  right,"  said  Mr.  Swanson,  "  but 
I  am  the  man  to  tell  him  what  your  work  amounts  to,  and 
you  will  have  as  much  pay  per  month  when  we  leave 
Grangemouth  as  that  big  chap  I  am  alluding  to,  or  my 
name  ain't  Swanson." 

Of  course,  I  thanked  him  for  the  interest  he  took  in  me. 
At  the  same  time  I  felt  a  little  uneasy  for  the  captain. 
He  really  had  done  me  a  great  service  by  taking  me  on,  as 
I  was  only  a  supernumerary  and  it  did  not  look  right  to  me 
that  anybody  should  make  it  their  business  to  demand  pay 
for  me,  when  the  captain  had  promised  to  do  the  right 
thing.  As  yet  I  had  not  done  a  great  deal  of  work,  outside 
of  keeping  the  cabin  clean. 

I  went  to  my  bed  and  was  soon  asleep.  When  I  awoke 
we  were  made  fast  to  a  stone  quay  in  Grangemouth  dock. 
Getting  my  clothes  on  in  a  hurry,  I  ran  up  to  assist  —  at 
least  I  made  a  bold  bluff  at  it. 


20  YANKEE    SWANSON 

The  panorama  of  new  and  changing  sights  held  me  spell- 
bound; but  I  observed  that  the  workingmen  appeared  to 
wear  better  clothes  and  looked  much  stronger  than  those  at 
home.  There  were  no  wooden  shoes  to  be  seen,  and  the 
people  appeared  to  be  better  fed.  Everything  I  saw  im- 
pressed me  very  much. 

After  breakfast,  the  stevedore  came  on  board  and  made 
arrangements  with  Mr.  Swanson  about  discharging  the 
cargo.  The  crew  was  to  work  the  cargo  on  the  vessel  and 
land  it  on  the  quay,  and  the  shoremen  were  to  receive  it 
and  load  it  on  trucks  for  transportation  to  the  lumber 
yards ;  or  if  there  was  a  shortage  of  trucks  —  which  was 
very  often  the  case  —  the  shoremen,  according  to  agree- 
ment, were  to  pile  it  on  the  pier  so  as  to  enable  the  crew 
to  work  at  all  times,  whether  there  were  trucks  or  not. 

The  stevedore,  whose  name  was  Duncan,  was  a  very  nice 
man.  I  did  a  small  favour  for  him  one  day  and  he  gave 
me  a  half-crown.  His  head  foreman,  MacDougall,  was  a 
hard  citizen,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  best 
scrapper  in  Grangemouth.  He  lived  up  to  his  reputation 
by  irritating  everybody  by  seeking  to  fight,  thereby  causing 
people  to  be  more  or  less  afraid  of  him. 

With  the  crew  on  the  vessel,  MacDougall  had  nothing  to 
do,  but  he  never  neglected  an  opportunity  to  hamper  us 
with  the  work,  which  annoyed  the  mate  a  great  deal.  He 
spoke  to  MacDougall  about  it  on  several  occasions,  the 
latter  returning  a  nasty,  snappy  answer.  It  was  all  Mr. 
Swanson  could  do  to  control  his  temper,  and  I  feared  if 
they  should  come  to  blows  it  would  be  all  day  with  him, 
feeling  sure  that  the  big  bully  was  able  to  whip  two  like 
Swanson. 

On  account  of  the  vessel  leaking,  the  captain  engaged 
some  calkers  to  calk  the  ship's  side  from  the  water  line 
down,  as  fast  as  she  came  up  by  unloading  the  cargo.  "We 
were  not  allowed  to  have  a  fire  on  board  the  vessel  while 


YANKEE    SWANSON  21 

lying  in  the  dock,  consequently  it  became  necessary  to  boil 
the  pitch  ashore.  It  was  understood  that  the  captain  was 
to  furnish  a  man  to  attend  to  the  boiling  of  the  pitch,  and 
being  the  only  one  available,  I  was  selected  for  that  duty. 
The  pitch  was  boiled  on  the  bank  of  the  Firth,  about  ten 
minutes'  walk  from  the  ship.  Between  this  place  and  the 
ship  was  a  very  fine  macadamized  road,  lined  on  each  side 
with  a  row  of  trees  and  rustic  seats  here  and  there. 

There  were  many  visitors  every  afternoon,  which  made 
it  very  interesting  for  me  indeed,  although  I  could  not 
talk  the  language.  Yet  I  liked  to  study  the  people. 
These  visitors  were  mainly  servant  girls  in  charge  of  little 
children.  As  they  sauntered  along  the  road  they  always 
caught  sight  of  me  —  if  not  me,  certainly  the  smoke 
—  and  the  little  ones  being  curious  to  find  out  what  was 
going  on,  invariably  had  their  way.  They  would  laugh- 
ingly run  up  to  me,  and  had  lots  of  fun  over  my  appear- 
ance, although  it  was  what  a  pitch  boiler  should  be. 
Nevertheless  I  felt  embarrassed  and  wished  that  I  could 
put  on  a  better  front.  But  my  looks  did  not  seem  to 
bother  them  any;  they  came  right  up  to  me,  asking  ques- 
tions that  I  did  not  understand,  but  I  tried  to  make  myself 
agreeable  in  different  ways,  and  we  became  friendly  in  a 
very  short  time. 

On  my  way  back  to  the  ship  one  evening  I  met  the  cook, 
who  asked  me  how  I  had  been  getting  along,  and  also  in- 
quired about  the  visitors. 

"  Too  bad  you  can't  talk  the  lingo,"  he  said.  "  I  will 
come  down  to-morrow  and  make  it  right  for  you." 

"  There  is  no  need  for  you  to  interfere,  as  I  am  getting 
along  first  rate,  and  I  am  sure  I  will  do  better  to-morrow." 

"  But  you  must  learn  a  few  sentences,  at  least.  There 
will  be  no  harm  in  that.  You  should  be  able  to  bid  the 
time  of  day ;  it  would  help  matters  out  a  bit.  They  would 
feel  more  at  home  and  so  would  you.  I  know  I  lost  a  fine 


fcfc  YANKEE    SWANSON 

chance  once  under  peculiar  circumstances,  and  this  is  how 
it  came  about. 

"  I  was  chief  steward  on  board  a  Baltic  trader.  We 
were  lying  at  a  place  called  Liibeck,  in  Germany.  The 
skipper  was  a  young  man,  and  a  sport  if  there  ever  was 
one.  He  had  company  on  board  morning,  noon,  and 
night,  and  he  kept  me  pretty  busy.  Among  his  callers  was 
a  handsome  young  woman  who  came  almost  every  morning. 
I  think  the  skipper  was  a  little  gone  on  her.  If  so,  I 
can't  blame  him;  I  was  a  little  affected  that  way  myself. 
My  wife  had  died  a  short  time  before,  and  I  was  therefore 
prospecting  for  another  one.  One  morning  this  woman 
had  breakfast  with  the  skipper,  and  when  they  were 
through  he  was  called  away  to  see  some  one  on  the  wharf. 
I  went  in  just  about  that  time  to  clear  away  the  table  and 
found  her  sitting  in  the  cabin  alone.  I  nodded  to  her 
as  any  gentleman  would  have  done,  and  she  said,  <Wie 
Gehts '  (How  do  you  do).  I  did  not  know  what  it  meant, 
and  that  is  where  the  fun  comes  in,  fool  that  I  was.  We 
had  had  hot  cakes  for  breakfast,  and  seeing  that  she  had 
eaten  every  one  that  I  had  put  before  her  the  thought 
struck  me  that  she  was  fond  of  them  and  would  like  to 
have  some  more." 

"  What  similarity  is  there  between  hot  cakes  and  '  Wie 
Gehts '  ? "  I  asked. 

"You  don't  think  there  is  any?  Well,  what  about 
'  wheat  cakes  '  then,  does  that  sound  any  nearer  to  it  ?  " 

I  admitted  it  did. 

"Well,  that  very  day  I  made  up  a  big  batch  of  hot 
cakes  and  sent  them  out  to  her  house,  requesting  her  to 
let  me  know  if  she  cared  for  some  more.  Now  you  see 
how  necessary  it  is  to  be  careful  how  you  handle  women 
folks.  That  lady  never  came  aboard  again." 

I  admitted  that  his  was  a  peculiar  case  and  that  it 
would  be  necessary  for  me  to  steer  clear  of  such  pitfalls. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  23 

"  Well,  I  wouldn't  have  made  such  a  fool  of  myself  if 
I  had  been  situated  as  you  are,  having  an  old  friend  and 
shipmate  at  hand  who  is  capable  and  willing  to  handle 
the  lingo.  Bear  in  mind,  sonny,  that  you  are  no  better 
off  in  English  than  I  was  in  Dutch. 

"  You  just  think  that  over,"  continued  the  cook.  "  See 
how  nice  it  would  be  if  you  could  get  on  the  right  side 
of  these  little  darlings.  They  would  invite  you  to  their 
houses  and  ask  you  to  bring  any  of  your  friends  along. 
Queer  people,  them  Scotch.  They  like  foreigners,  but 
they  have  to  be  of  the  right  kind.  Look  at  the  opportu- 
nity you  have  of  learning  the  language.  You  would  learn 
more  English  in  two  hours  from  those  pretty  little  lassies 
than  you  would  in  a  trip  to  China  with  that  bully  mate 
of  ours,  Yankee  Swanson." 

By  this  time  we  were  near  to  the  Forsette  and  seeing 
a  large  crowd  of  people  on  the  quay  making  a  great  deal 
of  noise  and  using  very  strong  language,  the  cook  remarked 
that  there  was  a  row  on  and  that  he  would  not  be  sur- 
prised if  MacDougall  and  Swanson  were  having  a  set  to; 
that  if  such  was  the  case  old  man  Bengston  would  be 
looking  for  another  mate  the  next  day.  When  we  reached 
the  crowd  we  found  that  what  the  cook  had  surmised  was 
right.  A  cold  shiver  ran  down  my  spine  when  I  saw  my 
old  friend  in  the  midst  of  that  savage  crowd,  stripped  to 
the  waist,  with  a  pair  of  boxing  gloves  on  his  hands.  I 
elbowed  my  way  through  the  crowd  and  taking  his  hand 
asked  him  what  the  matter  was.  Observing  my  anxiety 
and  wonderment  at  the  condition  of  affairs,  a  smile  spread 
over  his  face  and  he  said: 

"  Don't  be  alarmed,  my  boy.  I'll  be  with  you  in  a 
few  minutes.  Mr.  MacDougall  and  I  are  going  to  give 
a  little  exhibition  in  sparring  for  the  benefit  of  the  Sail- 
ors' Home." 

I  felt  somewhat  relieved  at  his  explanation,  although 


24  YANKEE    SWANSON 

it  was  not  altogether  satisfactory  on  account  of  the  many 
angry  faces  surrounding  the  combatants.  Very  soon  they 
assumed  the  correct  pugilistic  positions,  and  I  quickly 
saw  that  Swanson  was  perfectly  cool,  while  MacDougall 
was  furious  and  uttering  threats. 

MacDougall's  tactics  were  evidently  designed  to  knock 
his  opponent  out  by  sheer  strength,  as  he  was  a  man  of 
muscle.  But  Swanson  had  taken  his  measure  carefully 
during  the  past  few  days  and  was  quick  enough  to  find 
his  weak  points.  He  therefore  let  MacDougall  work  him- 
self into  a  frenzy,  to  which  he  contributed  by  making  side 
remarks  reflecting  on  MacDougall's  muscle,  and  side-step- 
ping all  blows.  I  then  saw  to  my  relief  that  Swanson 
had  not  served  with  the  American  colours  for  nothing. 
In  a  very  short  time,  when  Swanson  saw  that  the  bully 
was  thoroughly  winded,  he  started  to  perform  on  the 
various  parts  of  his  anatomy  in  a  most  scientific  manner, 
more  particularly  the  face.  At  length  Swanson  saw  there 
was  no  use  to  continue  the  punishment,  so  he  gave  one 
good  solar  plexus  blow  that  sent  MacDougall  to  the  "  land 
of  Nod." 

The  crowd  was  glad  that  the  bully  had  met  his  master, 
and  nothing  was  too  good  for  Swanson  in  Grangemouth 
after  that. 

When  the  decision  in  the  fight  between  MacDougall 
and  Swanson  had  been  unanimously  rendered  in  favour 
of  Swanson,  Mr.  Duncan  advanced  with  outstretched  hand 
to  Swanson,  expressing  himself  as  well  satisfied  with  the 
result  of  the  fight.  He  insisted  that  everybody  who  had 
any  interest  in  the  fight  should  retire  to  the  nearest  public- 
house  and  celebrate  the  event  by  taking  a  drink  at  his 
expense. 

The  irrepressible  cook  exclaimed  that  he  had  never  seen 
a  prettier  fight  or  a  better  managed  one.  "  I  doubt,"  he 
added,  "  if  I  could  do  as  well  as  Swanson  when  I  was  his 


YANKEE    SWANSON  25 

age.     Swanson  polished  him  off  to  the  Queen's  taste." 

Mr.  Swanson  said  that  he  had  no  objection  to  taking 
a  drink  with  Mr.  Duncan,  or  anybody  else  in  the  crowd, 
provided  it  was  understood  that  no  one  bore  him  any  ill 
will.  "  If  so,"  said  Swanson,  "  let  him  step  forward  and 
settle  it  now  while  he  is  in  the  humour."  No  one  came 
forward,  so  they  all  started  for  the  public-house.  I  knew 
that  was  no  place  for  me,  so  started  to  go  on  board,  but 
Swanson  saw  me  and  taking  me  by  the  arm  said,  "  It  is 
all  right,  boy.  You  can  take  ginger-ale." 

Every  one  was  satisfied  that  Swanson  was  no  ordinary 
boxer.  But  the  cook  had  to  have  his  say,  telling  the 
crowd  how  glad  he  was  that  none  of  them  thought  of  taking 
on  Swanson  because  instead  of  benefitting  the  Sailors' 
Home,  it  would  more  likely  be  the  undertaker.  He  also 
said  that  he  knew  Swanson  many  years  ago  when  he  was 
only  a  lad  in  San  Francisco,  out  of  a  job  with  a  board 
bill  to  pay.  There  was  a  fellow  giving  boxing  exhibitions 
at  the  Bella  Union  Theatre  every  evening,  and  he  offered 
one  hundred  dollars  to  anybody  who  could  stand  four 
rounds  with  him.  This  fellow  was  called  Yankee  Sulli- 
van. Swanson  thought  this  was  a  good  chance  to  get 
some  easy  money,  so  volunteered  his  services. 

"  Ah,  boys,  it  was  a  sight  to  see,  the  way  that  fellow 
handled  himself.  I  don't  think  he  made  a  move  that  I 
could  have  criticised.  Yankee  Sullivan  lasted  just  one 
little  round,  when  he  was  down  and  out  for  good,  so  we 
thought  at  first.  But  after  a  long  time  he  came  to  and 
the  first  words  he  uttered  were,  '  who  hit  me  with  a 
sledge-hammer  ? ' 

Swanson  and  I  did  not  stay  long  at  the  public-house. 
There  was  no  ginger-ale  so  I  did  not  get  anything,  except 
a  shilling  that  Mr.  Duncan  gave  me. 

When  we  got  on  board  the  captain  was  at  the  gangway, 
and  he  and  Swanson  engaged  in  conversation  at  once.  I 


26  YANKEE    SWANSON 

did  not  know  what  they  were  talking  about,  but  heard 
afterward  that  the  captain  was  afraid  the  authorities 
would  make  trouble  for  him  as  well  as  the  mate  on  account 
of  the  fight.  The  captain  had  sent  my  brother  to  the 
hospital  to  see  how  MacDougall  was,  and  he  had  been 
informed  that  his  jaw  was  broken.  This  was  not  true, 
however.  MacDougall  left  the  hospital  the  next  day,  but 
he  did  not  come  to  work  again  for  Mr.  Duncan.  He  evi- 
dently felt  ashamed  to  mingle  among  his  men,  and  they 
would  have  made  his  life  miserable.  It  is  human  nature 
that  when  a  man  is  down  everybody  has  a  grudge  against 
him.. 


THE  following  morning  I  was  up  early,  as  I  wanted  to 
see  the  mate  before  going  to  the  pitch  boiling  place. 
Coming  out  of  the  cabin  I  saw  him  forward  talking  to  my 
brother.  It  seemed  that  my  brother  was  consulting  him 
about  getting  paid  off  from  the  Forsette. 

My  brother  had  met  a  captain  on  shore  with  whom  he 
had  sailed  before.  He  had  a  vacancy  on  his  ship  and 
offered  it  to  him.  My  brother  wanted  to  accept  it,  pro- 
vided Captain  Bengston  was  willing  to  pay  him  off.  The 
mate  said  he  would  intercede  for  him,  adding,  "  in  case 
you  get  the  job  I  shall  promote  one  of  the  ordinary  sea- 
men and  the  little  fellow  here  can  go  on  the  Articles  as 
ordinary  seaman." 

I  blushed  at  hearing  of  my  intended  promotion.  But 
the  mate  told  me  that  I  would  have  to  go  into  the  fo'cs'le, 
and  that  I  would  have  to  be  careful  not  to  let  that  big 
chap  ride  rough  shod  over  me,  as  he  would  make  trouble 
for  me. 

When  my  brother's  case  was  presented  to  the  captain, 
he  said  that  he  would  not  stand  in  any  one's  way  when 
he  could  better  himself.  He  paid  my  brother  off  and  he 
joined  the  Swedish  barque  Concordia  at  Liverpool,  where 
she  was  loading  general  cargo  for  Capetown. 

I  was  very  sorry  to  lose  my  brother,  but  I  had  good 
friends  in  the  mate  and  the  cook  so  I  was  no  longer  a 
stranger  on  board.  I  was  glad  he  had  a  chance  to  better 
himself,  and  it  turned  out  afterward  to  be  the  best  move 
he  ever  made,  for  it  proved  to  be  a  small  gold  mine  to  him. 

The  longshoremen  were  assembling  for  work  so  Swan- 

27 


28  YANKEE    SWANSON 

son  shouted,  "  Turn  to,"  to  our  men.  I  went  over  the 
gangway  and  walked  slowly  toward  the  pitch  boiling  es- 
tablishment, there  being  no  hurry  for  the  pitch,  as  it  was 
not  required  before  nine  o'clock.  Passing  the  cook-house 
I  thought  of  having  another  cup  of  coffee,  and  perhaps 
something  to  eat. 

The  cook-house  was  a  barrack-like  affair,  long  and  nar- 
row. One  side  of  it  was  all  stove  and  the  other  all 
shelves.  There  must  have  been  at  least  twenty  cooks, 
mostly  foreigners.  There  was  an  entrance  at  each  end 
of  it,  and  as  I  entered  I  found  our  cook  seated  in  a  chair 
—  the  only  one  in  the  establishment  —  entirely  surrounded 
by  other  dirty  cooks.  Directly  in  front  of  him  was  a 
small  window,  but  no  glass  in  it,  through  which  he  was 
squirting  a  continuous  stream  of  tobacco  juice,  with  a 
force  and  precision  that  was  simply  astonishing.  He 
was  evidently  the  boss  of  the  place.  When  he  saw  me  he 
shouted,  "  Hello,  boy,  what's  up  now  ?  Any  more  news 
from  the  front?"  I  told  him  that  I  had  come  in  for  a 
cup  of  coffee.  "  Hey,  you,  Billy,"  he  shouted  to  another 
cook,  "  get  this  boy  of  mine  a  cup  of  coffee  and  something 
to  eat.  And  mind  you  don't  take  any  of  my  stuff  or  you 
will  get  some  of  the  medicine  that  MacDougall  got." 

Turning  to  me  he  said,  "  While  that  chimney-sweep 
is  getting  your  coffee  take  a  seat  on  the  floor.  I  am  in  the 
act  of  telling  these  greenhorns  a  few  important  things  in 
the  manly  art  of  self-defence.  As  I  have  told  you  before, 
I  have  been  the  principal  actor  in  many  a  hard  fought 
scrap.  In  relating  these  things  to  greenhorns  who  don't 
understand  the  game,  it  is  of  more  importance  to  them 
to  know  that  sometimes,  just  when  you  have  got  your 
man  going,  the  unforeseen  will  happen  and  off  you  go 
into  dreamland.  That's  what  happened  to  me  once.  It 
was  a  dream  pure  and  simple.  This  is  how  it  happened : 

"  It  was  just  after  the  Crimean  war,  when  I  was  chief 


YANKEE    SWANSON  29 

steward  of  a  pretty  good  sized  Liverpool  barque  and  we 
were  chartered  to  go  to  the  Black  Sea  to  fetch,  home  a 
regiment  of  soldiers,  quite  a  number  of  officers  and  some 
ladies.  They  were  a  half  starved  lot  when  they  came  on 
board  and  were  civil  enough  then,  but  they  changed  a 
whole  lot  I  can  tell  you  after  eating  my  cooking.  I 
worked  as  I  never  worked  before,  and  as  I  never  will 
again.  It  was  all  to  no  purpose.  They  kept  kicking 
about  everything  and  it  got  worse  every  day.  With  the 
captain's  permission  I  was  allowed  to  take  some  of  the 
ladies  into  the  galley  to  fix  up  certain  dishes  for  their 
husbands.  It  sort  of  helped  out  in  a  way,  too,  though  at 
times  it  was  a  perfect  nuisance.  Being  a  handsome  fel- 
low, if  I  do  say  it  myself,  it  caused  a  great  deal  of  fric- 
tion among  the  officers.  One  day  a  young  snob  of  a 
general  came  to  the  galley  door  and  accused  me  of  being 
too  friendly  with  his  wife,  and  also  of  having  put  poison 
in  his  pudding.  These  insinuations  made  me  angry,  not 
so  much  on  account  of  the  reference  to  the  poison,  but  his 
wife  —  the  Lord  help  us  —  was  the  ugliest  woman  on  the 
ship.  The  charge  was  too  ridiculous  and  I  told  him  so. 
Many  of  the  officers  backed  me  up.  This  made  him  mad- 
der still.  It  seemed  that  he  wanted  me  to  admit  that  I 
was  a  little  gone  on  her.  I  guess  he  thought  it  would  be 
a  feather  in  his  cap  on  account  of  her  ugliness.  But  I 
wouldn't  have  it  that  way  and  demanded  redress,  and 
with  bare  knuckles  at  that.  The  doctor  investigated  the 
pudding  and  found  no  poison  in  it.  The  general  then 
agreed  to  accept  my  challenge.  It  was  agreed  that 
the  fight  was  to  come  off  on  the  Saturday  following,  on 
the  quarterdeck.  The  captain  volunteered  his  services  as 
referee,  which  was  agreeable  to  both  of  us. 

"  As  we  had  two  or  three  days  to  brush  up  before  the 
fight  came  off,  I  selected  a  fellow  out  of  the  fo'cs'le  to 
give  me  a  bit  of  a  rub-down  every  afternoon  when  I  got 


SO  YANKEE    SWANSON 

through  exercising  with  a  pair  of  50-pound  dumbbells. 
That  was  all  the  training  I  did.  I  didn't  really  require 
any,  as  I  always  kept  myself  in  first-class  condition. 
However,  on  this  occasion  I  did  take  a  little  extra  pre- 
caution. I  wanted  to  give  that  snob  of  a  general  an 
illustration  of  the  Crimean  war  on  a  small  scale.  How 
well  I  succeeded  you  will  now  hear. 

"  Saturday  afternoon  came  round,  and  say,  boy,  how  I 
did  ache  to  get  at  that  general.  I  was  happy  when'  the 
mate  announced  that  everything  was  ready  for  the  go. 
I  left  my  room  stripped  to  the  waist,  and  as  I  stepped  on 
the  poop-deck  I  bowed  to  the  captain  and  the  spectators. 
My  opponent  was  ahead  of  me  in  the  ring,  talking  to  an- 
other general  who  had  been  selected  as  timekeeper.  The 
captain  asked  me  if  I  had  any  objections  to  this  general 
acting  in  this  capacity.  I  told  him  that  I  had  none.  It 
was  early  in  the  afternoon  and  I  knew  that  I  had  all  sorts 
of  time  to  polish  off  half  a  dozen  generals.  Everything 
being  satisfactory,  and  according  to  Queensbury  rules,  the 
timekeeper  said,  '  go ! ' 

"  In  the  first  three  rounds  I  didn't  do  any  serious  exe- 
cution; it  was  more  after  the  fashion  of  a  dancing  match 
than  anything  else.  Once  in  a  while  I  would  prick  him 
up  a  little  with  a  left  or  right  hook  to  let  him  know  that 
I  was  there,  but  outside  of  that  I  confined  myself  entirely 
to  dancing  around  him  like  a  cooper  round  a  cask. 

"  In  the  fourth  and  fifth  rounds  I  made  it  very  dis- 
agreeable for  him.  He  must  have  thought  it  was  Sebas- 
topol  all  over  again.  The  captain  asked  as  a  favour  not 
to  prolong  the  agony.  '  Everybody  can  see,'  he  said, 
'that  the  general  is  not  in  your  class.'  I  therefore  de- 
cided to  wind  the  fight  up  in  the  next  round  by  giving  a 
small  imitation  of  the  charge  of  the  Light  Brigade,  which 
I  thought  would  please  the  spectators,  as  the  majority  of 
them  were  soldiers. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  31 

"  The  timekeeper  called  '  Time '  for  the  sixth  and  final 
round.  I  charged  him  with  the  intention  of  finishing  him 
with  a  solar  plexus  blow.  The  blow  was  landed  right 
enough  but  when  he  was  falling  he  threw  both  arms  around 
my  neck  and  I  knew  no  more.  There  we  were,  both  of 
us  knocked  out  The  mate  pulled  the  general  off  and  I 
finally  came  to." 

We  sat  around  and  talked  it  over  until  Billy  came  with 
coffee  and  a  snack  to  eat. 

After  eating  I  resumed  my  labours  with  the  pitch, 
which  was  at  boiling  point  when  one  of  the  calkers  came 
down  to  take  it  to  the  ship.  He  also  brought  me  a  note 
from  the  mate  in  which  the  mate  asked  me  to  come  to  the 
boat  with  the  calker.  I  wondered  what  he  wanted,  and 
was  surprised  when  he  said  that  the  captain  wanted  me  to 
go  to  Edinburgh  with  him.  The  chronometer  was  out 
of  order  and  had  to  be  taken  to  Edinburgh  to  be  repaired. 
The  captain  thought  he  would  give  me  a  little  outing  at 
the  same  time  for  my  good  work  with  the  pitch.  Mr. 
Swanson  had  spoken  to  the  captain  about  my  being  put 
on  the  Articles,  to  which  the  captain  had  no  objections, 
saying  that  it  was  no  more  than  right  and  that  I  might 
consider  myself  under  pay.  Thanking  him  I  hurried 
away  to  get  dressed  for  the  trip. 

At  the  depot  the  captain  found  several  friends,  cap- 
tains of  various  vessels,  who  had  decided  to  make  the  trip 
too,  combining  business  with  pleasure.  I  had  charge  of 
the  chronometer  and  was  pleased  to  make  the  trip. 

This  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  travelled  on  a  rail- 
road and  everything  I  saw  interested  me  very  much.  We 
passed  through  several  tunnels,  which  puzzled  me  indeed. 
The  scenery  on  the  way  was  grand  to  my  eye  and  every- 
thing looked  substantial  and  comfortable,  compared  to 
what  I  was  accustomed  to  see  at  home. 

Arriving  in  Edinburgh  we  went  to  a  hotel  and  had  a 


82  YANKEE    SWANSON 

good  meal.  The  skippers  were  all  in  good  humour, 
JBengston  in  particular.  He  said  all  kinds  of  nice  things 
about  me  to  the  other  captains  and,  better  still,  gave  me 
a  pound  to  spend  as  I  pleased.  All  this  praise  caused  me 
to  think  a  great  deal  of  myself.  I  had  the  twenty  franc 
piece  ornamenting  my  silver  watch  chain,  and  compared 
it  with  the  sovereign  the  captain  had  given  me.  I  was 
undecided  which  was  the  prettier  and  wondered  what  the 
folks  at  home  would  say  if  they  saw  me  at  that  moment. 
I  felt  sure  grandpa  would  have  shed  a  few  tears  at  my 
good  fortune. 

The  other  captains  had  heard  of  the  girls  visiting  me 
at  the  pitch  boilers  and  joshed  me  about  them.  I  ad- 
mitted that  I  was  in  clover  so  far  as  they  were  concerned. 
One  captain  wondered  how  it  was  possible  for  me  to  get 
along  when  I  could  not  speak  the  language.  "  Oh,"  said 
Bengston,  "  yes,  he  can.  My  cook,  Baron  Von  Mun- 
chausen,  takes  care  of  that.  Miss  Duncan  told  me  yes- 
terday that  he  could  say  lots  of  things  to  her;  in  fact  he 
asked  her  for  a  kiss." 

•When  I  heard  this  I  was  covered  with  confusion  and 
felt  annoyed  that  the  cook  should  have  betrayed  me  in 
such  a  manner.  Had  I  really  committed  myself?  And 
was  that  pretty  girl  who  had  asked  me  so  many  questions 
Miss  Duncan  ?  Every  time  I  thought  of  it  I  blushed  to 
the  roots  of  my  hair  and  swore  that  I  would  wreak 
vengeance  on  the  cook  for  what  he  had  done.  I  thought 
of  telling  Captain  Bengston  about  the  trick  played  on  me 
by  the  cook,  and  then  I  thought  that  he  might  laugh  at 
me,  so  I  left  the  matter  undecided  until  my  return  to  the 
ship. 

We  went  to  a  great  many  places  of  historical  interest 
in  the  Scottish  capital,  among  them  being  Holyrood  Pal- 
ace, where  we  saw  the  room  occupied  by  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots,  and  also  the  axe  with  which  she  was  beheaded.  I 


YANKEE    SWANSON  33 

also  saw  the  basket  in  which  James,  afterward  King  of 
Scotland,  was  lowered  from  the  castle,  thus  making  his  es- 
cape. In  the  evening  we  went  to  a  theatre.  I  had  never 
been  in  one  before.  It  amused  me  more  than  anything. 
I  did  not  sleep  well  that  night,  although  the  bed  was 
much  better  than  any  I  had  ever  slept  in.  I  lay  awake 
thinking.  Somehow  I  could  not  get  Miss  Duncan  out  of 
my  mind.  The  whole  thing  seemed  a  puzzle  to  me.  Why 
did  she  tell  the  captain  about  it?  If  she  told  him  she 
must  have  told  her  parents  also.  I  thought  she  ought  to 
have  been  ashamed  to  mention  it,  and  yet  she  evidently 
considered  me  innocent  of  wrong-doing.  I  had  helped 
her  on  several  occasions  to  carry  the  little  ones  along  the 
road  when  it  was  time  to  go  home.  At  all  times  she  had 
seemed  pleased  with  my  behaviour.  Yet  I  felt  deter- 
mined to  talk  to  Swanson  who  I  thought  would  straighten 
the  matter  out  for  me.  I  soon  fell  asleep  and  dreamt 
that  it  was  not  I  who  had  asked  such  an  impertinent  ques- 
tion but  a  fellow  much  bigger  than  I. 

After  breakfast  next  morning  we  went  to  the  park  and 
saw  a  number  of  children  dressed  in  Highland  costume 
playing  there.  It  looked  very  odd  to  me,  and  so  I  asked 
Captain  Bengston  how  they  came  to  be  dressed  in  that 
manner  in  the  city.  He  told  me  that  in  some  parts  of 
the  Highlands  they  wore  no  clothes  at  all.  I  laughed  at 
him  as  I  thought  he  was  joking. 

After  dinner  we  went  to  the  railroad  depot  and  Captain 
Bengston  put  me  on  board  the  train,  in  charge  of  the  con- 
ductor who  was  told  to  put  me  off  at  Grangemouth.  The 
captain  gave  me  some  verbal  orders  for  the  mate  and  said 
good-bye. 

With  my  sovereign  I  had  purchased  several  souvenirs 
for  the  folks  at  home,  among  them  being  some  fancy  clay 
pipes  for  grandpa. 

There  was  a  big  fat  woman  seated  next  to  me  in  the 


34.  YANKEE    SWANSON 

car,  who  talked  a  great  deal  to  the  other  passengers, 
finally  addressing  a  few  remarks  to  me.  I  did  not  know 
what  she  was  talking  about,  but  as  she  persisted  in  address- 
ing me  I  nodded  my  head,  meaning  that  I  did  not  under- 
stand English.  The  other  passengers  were  very  much 
amused  at  what  she  was  saying,  which  caused  me  to  feel 
very  embarrassed  as  I  thought  she  was  making  fun  at  my 
expense. 

Very  soon  we  entered  a  tunnel,  and  shortly  afterward 
were  startled  to  hear  the  most  blood-curdling  yells  which 
we  discovered  came  from  the  fat  woman  next  to  me.  My 
souvenirs  fell  to  the  floor  and  were  stamped  upon  by  the 
woman  who  was  still  yelling  something  unintelligible  to 
me.  As  I  stooped  to  pick  up  my  package  from  under  her 
feet  she  landed  me  a  most  powerful  blow  with  her  fist 
that  made  me  see  stars  and  landed  me  on  the  floor.  When 
we  reached  the  end  of  the  tunnel  I  resumed  my  seat,  but 
not  the  fat  woman.  She  stood  frothing  at  the  mouth  and 
swearing  volubly.  When  I  gazed  upon  her  I  was  horror- 
struck  at  her  altered  appearance.  She  was  as  black  as 
an  inkwell.  Everybody  was  laughing  at  her  except  my- 
self, as  I  was  afraid  of  receiving  another  knockout  blow. 
The  train  coming  to  a  stop  she  called  the  conductor.  He 
examined  my  hands  and  found  no  evidence  of  the  crime 
with  which  she  accused  me.  She  continued  to  swear  and 
was  not  satisfied  that  I  had  not  done  it.  It  was  quite 
obvious  that  somebody  in  a  spirit  of  mischief  had  rubbed 
her  face  with  a  boot-black  brush  and  then  thrown  it  out 
of  the  window.  To  make  matters  worse  she  wiped  her  face 
with  a  dirty  handkerchief  which  she  had.  This  only  made 
the  smear  more  general,  and  produced  more  laughter  from 
the  passengers.  She  got  off  the  train  shaking  her  fist 
at  me. 

Being  very  much  upset  over  the  loss  of  my  trinkets  and 
the  false  accusations  against  me,  I  did  not  observe  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  35 

passengers  who  got  on  at  this  wayside  station  until  a  little 
tot  of  three  or  four  years  came  and  sat  on  my  knee.  I 
recognised  her  as  one  of  my  little  friends  of  the  pitch 
boiling  place.  Making  her  comfortable  on  my  knee  she 
insisted  on  giving  me  a  piece  of  candy,  for  which  I  thanked 
her  in  English.  Looking  around  for  her  caretaker  I 
observed  her  sitting  almost  opposite  me  beside  an  elderly 
lady  who  looked  to  be  her  mother.  The  mother  said 
something  to  the  little  one  but  she  took  no  notice;  instead 
she  put  her  arms  around  my  neck  seeming  to  be  quite 
happy  in  my  company.  The  mother  was  a  pleasant 
looking  lady,  who  seemed  to  enjoy  the  situation  of  her 
daughter  and  laughed  when  she  noticed  the  liberties  the 
little  one  was  taking  with  me.  I  did  not  object  as  they 
were  an  improvement  on  the  company  I  had  had  during 
the  early  part  of  my  journey.  After  a  while  there  were 
two  vacant  seats  next  to  me  and  the  lady  and  her  daughter 
came  over  and  occupied  them.  They  introduced  them- 
selves as  Mrs.  and  Miss  Duncan,  making  me  feel  quite  at 
home.  We  arrived  in  Grangemouth  about  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  The  little  one  had  fallen  asleep  in  my  arms 
and  remained  asleep  after  we  got  off  the  train.  I  accom- 
panied the  ladies  with  my  burden  which  was  growing 
heavier  every  minute.  Miss  Duncan  walked  beside  me, 
chatting  all  the  time.  She  offered  to  relieve  me  but  I 
refused  to  part  with  my  little  friend.  I  did  not  know  all 
Miss  Duncan  said  to  me  and  vowed  I  would  start  in  that 
very  evening  to  learn  English.  I  understood  a  little 
English  but  could  not  express  myself  in  that  language. 
I  was  afraid  to  say  anything  for  fear  I  should  again  ask 
for  a  kiss. 

We  very  soon  arrived  at  Mrs.  Duncan's  house.  Mr. 
Duncan  met  us  at  the  door  and  embraced  his  wife  and 
daughter.  He  then  took  the  sleeping  child  from  my  arms 
and  kissed  her  affectionately,  pushing  me  into  the  hall.  I 


36  YANKEE    SWANSON 

tried  to  tell  him  that  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  go  on 
board  ship  but  he  would  not  hear  of  it.  He  showed  me 
into  the  parlor,  where  I  found  Swanson  and  some  more 
of  Mr.  Duncan's  friends.  Mr.  Swanson,  after  shaking 
hands  with  me,  asked  me  what  sort  of  a  trip  I  had  had.  I 
started  to  tell  him  but  was  stopped  by  Mrs.  Duncan  and 
Betsey,  who  relieved  me  of  saying  any  more  about  it. 

The  evening  turned  out  to  be  a  most  pleasant  one  for 
me.  Miss  Betsey  took  me  in  hand  and  said  I  was  a 
wonder  at  picking  up  words  in  English.  I  asked  Swanson 
to  put  me  right  in  regard  to  the  kissing,  which  had  worried 
me  so  much.  Strange  to  say,  it  did  not  worry  me  half 
so  much  now  as  it  did  in  Edinburgh.  I  rather  wished  it 
was  true,  more  particularly  so  when  Miss  Duncan  said 
that  I  had  never  uttered  such  a  statement.  I  then  made 
up  my  mind  that  I  would  not  boil  pitch  much  longer  with- 
out really  asking. 

Swanson  was  a  general  favourite  that  evening  by  telling 
funny  stories,  singing  nigger  songs  and  dancing  horn- 
pipes. I  never  thought  there  could  be  so  much  humour  in 
so  stern  a  looking  man. 

Mr.  Duncan  offered  Swanson  MacDougall's  position  as 
general  foreman  stevedore,  which  was  considered  a  very 
good  position,  but  Swanson  would  not  hear  of  it  having 
promised  his  brother-in-law  that  he  would  finish  the  sum- 
mer cruise  on  the  old  Forsette. 

It  was  about  eleven  o'clock  that  night  when  we  left  the 
house.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Duncan  and  their  friends  invited 
us  to  call  again  before  we  sailed.  Miss  Duncan  promised 
to  call  at  the  pitch  place  the  following  day,  and  as  a 
special  favour  to  her  I  promised  not  to  eat  at  the  cook- 
house, as  she  wanted  to  bring  me  something  nice  for  my 
lunch. 

On  our  way  to  the  ship  Swanson  asked  me  how  I  had 
enjoyed  myself  and  when  I  told  him  what  a  good  time  I 


YANKEE    SWANSON  37 

had  had  he  was  pleased.  He  asked  me  if  I  would  like 
to  call  again.  I  answered  him  that  I  would  be  glad  to  at 
any  time.  "  I  thought  so,"  he  said,  "  they  are  nice  people 
all  right.  Miss  Duncan  will  buy  you  some  books  to  take 
along  and  we  shall  start  to  study  English  at  odd  moments 
on  our  trip  to  Norway  and  Russia,  When  we  get  back  to 
old  England  you  will  be  able  to  do  your  own  talking."  I 
felt  encouraged  and  promised  to  be  an  apt  pupil.  "  I  know 
you  will,"  said  Swanson.  "  And  there  is  something  else 
you  will  have  to  attend  to  that  is  as  important  as  learning 
English,  and  that  is  to  know  how  to  use  those  fancy  gloves 
of  mine.  However,  I  am  proud  of  you  and  so  is  the 
Duncan  family.  I  hope  the  old  man  will  get  a  charter 
for  Grangemouth  before  the  summer  is  over.  Well,  we 
shall  see.  To-morrow  we  ought  to  get  letters  from  home. 
I  suppose  you  will  get  a  big  one  from  grandpa.  Have 
you  written  home  ?  " 

I  told  him  that  I  had  not.  "  That's  bad,"  he  said.  "  If 
it  was  not  so  late  I  would  make  you  write  to-night.  But 
mind  you  do  it  to-morrow  or  there  will  be  no  more  visiting 
Betsey.  Never  neglect  to  write  to  your  mother.  My  case 
was  somewhat  different.  In  the  first  place  I  had  no  mother 
to  write  to,  and  in  the  second  place  I  did  not  know  how 
to  write  until  I  was  almost  a  man.  My  father  never  had 
any  use  for  me,  except  to  give  me  a  licking.  Still  I  did 
not  allow  that  to  stand  in  the  way  of  letting  him  know 
how  I  was  getting  along,  and  sometimes  I  backed  it  up 
with  a  few  dollars  that  must  have  come  in  very  handy  for 
him  in  his  old  age." 

I  reflected  upon  what  this  man  had  told  me,  and  my 
respect  for  him  increased.  After  I  had  gone  to  bed  that 
night  I  lay  there  a  long  time  before  sleep  came  to  my 
eyes,  vowing  that  never  again  would  I  give  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  criticise  my  behaviour  in  regard  to  writing  home. 
I  would  write  to-morrow  even  if  there  was  no  letter  for 


38  YANKEE    SWANSON 

me.  There  was  plenty  of  interesting  news  to  relate.  The 
trip  to  Edinburgh  alone  would  be  sufficient.  I  thought  I 
had  better  not  say  anything  about  Betsey.  I  preferred  to 
tell  grandpa  personally  about  her. 


AWAKING  early  next  morning  I  turned  out  and  went 
on  deck,  finding  the  cook  to  be  the  only  one  astir. 
He  was  getting  a  few  things  ready  to  take  to  the  cook- 
house and  asked  me  to  help  him,  as  it  would  save  him 
another  trip  to  the  ship.  "  You  can  fetch,  the  coffee-pot 
back  for  the  men.  That  will  be  your  job  anyhow,  now 
that  you  are  going  to  be  an  ordinary  seaman,"  he  said. 
"  I  am  glad  that  you  don't  seem  to  care  for  the  cooking 
business.  It  is  the  last  thing  that  a  young  fellow  should 
go  in  for.  Look  at  me.  Here  I  am  sixty  years  old  and 
not  a  place  for  me  to  rest  my  weary  head,  nor  a  dollar 
laid  by  for  a  rainy  day." 

I  admitted  that  his  case  was  a  sad  one  and  said,  "  Why 
don't  you  marry  ?  " 

"  Marry,  marry  who  ?  " 

"  Oh,  somebody." 

"  Well,  yes,  there  was  a  time  when  I  could  have  married 
somebody,  but  that  was  years  ago  and  I  was  a  fool,  too,  if 
I  say  so  myself.  I  was  altogether  too  particular,  wouldn't 
stand  for  anything  but  the  very  finest  points  in  the  women 
folk.  I  now  see  my  error,  and  I  am  afraid  that  there  is 
none  of  the  kind  left  that  I  am  looking  for." 

I  tried  to  describe  the  fat  woman,  my  acquaintance  of 
the  train,  to  him,  but  I  could  not  get  him  interested. 
Evidently  there  was  something  wrong  with  him  that  morn- 
ing. 

When  we  got  to  the  cook-house,  Billy,  the  cook  I  have 

spoken  of  before,  treated  me  to  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  in  a 

39 


40  YANKEE    SWANSON 

short  time  our  cook  had  the  coffee-pot  ready  for  me. 
Arriving  at  the  ship,  I  was  met  by  Axel  (called  "  The  Big 
Lobster"  by  Swanson),  who  demanded  in  a  very  angry 
tone  why  I  was  so  long  in  getting  the  coffee  on  board.  I 
told  him  I  could  not  bring  it  before  it  was  ready.  That 
did  not  seem  to  satisfy  him,  as  he  remarked  that  my 
brother  was  not  on  board  to  take  my  part  and  if  I  repeated 
the  offence  there  would  be  something  doing.  I  got  very 
angry  and  asked  him  to  see  about  it  at  once,  which  he 
proceeded  to  do  by  upsetting  the  coffee-pot,  which  I  had 
set  on  the  deck,  in  his  rush  to  get  at  me. 

I  had  seen  enough  of  Swanson's  little  scrap  with  Mac- 
Dougall  to  learn  that  it  would  be  most  tactical  on  my  part 
to  keep  away  from  him  until  an  opportunity  presented 
itself.  I  succeeded  in  avoiding  him  for  some  time,  but  I 
soon  ducked  and  ran  between  his  legs,  thereby  upsetting 
him.  This  caused  a  great  deal  of  laughter  among  the 
sailors  who  were  standing  about,  and  Swanson,  having 
heard  the  commotion,  sauntered  forward  to  see  what  it 
was  all  about.  When  Axel  saw  the  mate  he  stopped  chas- 
ing me. 

"  What's  the  trouble,  Andrew  ?  "  he  asked.  I  told  him 
it  was  all  over  the  coffee  not  being  brought  aboard  sooner. 

"  Oh,  is  that  all,"  said  the  mate.  "  And  for  that  Axel 
wanted  to  lick  you.  Well,  now  you  had  better  give  him 
a  chance,  and  I  will  see  that  fair  play  is  given  to  both, 
and,"  turning  to  me,  "  if  you  do  not  polish  him  off  as  I 
did  MacDougall  you  had  better  not  call  on  any  of  your 
Scotch  friends.  They  would  not  welcome  you,  be  sure  of 
that.  You,  Axel,  just  wait  a  moment  while  I  bring  out 
the  mittens,  and  while  I  am  away  just  stretch  a  rope 
across  here  so  that  nobody  will  interfere." 

Axel  was  about  two  years  my  senior,  very  large  and 
ungainly,  but  very  much  stronger  than  I.  He  had  a 
nasty  disposition  and  was  constantly  picking  at  me,  mak- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  41 

ing  sarcastic  remarks  about  my  being  the  mate's  pet, 
and  making  life  in  general  as  miserable  for  me  as  he 
could.  When  I  went  forward  among  the  men  he  made 
it  a  point  to  criticise  my  unseaman-like  talk,  and  on 
several  occasions  called  me  a  farmer. 

When  the  mate  was  adjusting  the  gloves,  first  on  Axel, 
then  on  me,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  should  conquer  or 
die  in  the  attempt  to  lick  my  opponent.  Swanson  gave 
me  some  advice  just  before  he  said  the  word  "  Go." 
"  Keep  away  from  that  lobster.  Don't  let  him  clinch,  and 
every  time  you  get  a  chance  soak  him  in  the  jaw  or  the 
solar  plexus,  and  he  will  be  done  for  inside  of  two 
minutes." 

A  number  of  longshoremen  had  arrived  on  the  quay  and 
the  mate  invited  them  to  come  on  board.  Several  re- 
marked that  it  was  not  fair  to  pit  me  against  such  a  big 
fellow.  The  mate  said  he  would  stand  treat  for  all  hands 
if  Axel  won.  One  of  the  longshoremen  took  him  up.  At 
that  Swanson  said  "  Go." 

There  is  no  use  for  me  to  describe  the  fight,  being  one 
of  the  combatants.  I  know  that  I  was  knocked  down 
twice  and  saw  any  number  of  stars.  But  I  saw  my  oppo- 
nent go  down  twice,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  sending  home 
a  dandy  blow  on  his  nose  that  made  it  bleed  freely  and 
worried  him  a  great  deal,  causing  him  to  be  careless  in 
his  defence,  thereby  giving  me  the  chance  to  soak  him  one 
in  the  eye  and  another  in  the  solar  plexus,  which  doubled 
him  up  like  a  jack-knife.  He  started  to  cry,  to  the  great 
amusement  of  the  spectators.  Swanson  then  came  for- 
ward and  announced  me  the  winner,  at  the  same  time 
taking  me  by  the  hand,  saying,  "  With  a  few  lessons  I  will 
back  this  boy  against  any  one  in  Grangemouth,  for  his 
size  and  age." 

The  longshoremen  insisted  upon  shaking  hands  with 
me,  and  the  fellow  who  lost  his  bet  wanted  to  stand  treat 


4£  YANKEE    SWANSON 

at  once,  but  Swanson  said  it  was  time  to  turn  to ;  the  treat- 
ing could  wait  until  evening. 

Getting  ready  to  go  to  my  pitch  boiler,  one  of  the  calkers 
told  me  not  to  mind  about  it  that  day,  saying,  "  We  will 
look  after  it  ourselves,"  intimating  that  I  had  already 
done  a  good  day's  work.  I  insisted  that  I  was  not  tired ; 
besides  I  did  not  like  the  idea  of  any  one  thinking  I  wag 
too  much  used  up  not  to  attend  to  business.  So  I  started 
a  fire  and  soon  had  the  pitch  boiling. 

Later  on  I  sat  down  for  a  rest  and  took  out  pencil  and 
paper,  intending  to  write  to  my  mother,  but  found  that 
my  hand  was  too  shaky,  so  put  it  off  for  a  little  while.  A 
calker  came  for  some  pitch,  and  taking  a  good  look  at 
me  said  that  I  looked  first  rate  compared  to  Axel. 

"  Come  along  and  take  a  look  at  him.  You  will  find 
him  an  interesting  object.  You  sure  did  make  a  better 
job  of  him  than  you  did  of  the  fat  woman.  Yankee  Swan- 
son  is  the  happiest  man  in  Grangemouth.  I  thought  Mr. 
Duncan  would  burst  his  sides  laughing  when  Yankee  told 
him  about  it.  Duncan  is  now  taking  up  a  collection  to 
recompense  you  for  the  loss  of  the  clay  pipes  and  the  hard- 
ware that  you  broke  on  the  fat  woman.  Say,  boy,  you 
are  all  right.  The  cook  told  me  all  about  it.  That 
fellow  is  no  ordinary  square-head.  It  was  lucky  for  you 
that  Swanson  put  you  on  to  Axel's  weak  points,  or  you 
would  have  been  a  goner.  That  fellow  Axel  is  as  strong  as 
an  ox,  but  Yankee  is  taking  it  out  of  him  now ;  he  is  mak- 
ing him  pack  double  loads.  I  feel  sorry  for  the  poor  fel- 
low. Duncan  asked  him  to  let  up,  but  it  is  no  use.  That 
Swanson  is  a  hard  citizen.  I  should  not  like  to  work 
under  him." 

I  told  him  that  I  did  not  care  about  going  back  to  the 
ship  just  then,  as  I  had  a  letter  or  two  to  write ;  besides  I 
was  on  the  lookout  for  somebody  to  bring  me  something  to 
eat. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  48 

Praising  my  ability  as  a  pitch  boiler  the  calker  picked 
up  the  pot  and  returned  to  the  ship,  while  I  began  to 
write  my  letters  with  a  perfectly  steady  hand.  I  was  on 
the  point  of  putting  my  writing  material  away  when  I 
observed  Miss  Betsey.  She  was  standing  some  distance 
away,  looking  intently  at  me,  evidently  expecting  to  find 
me  in  pieces  as  her  father  had  told  her  about  the  scrap. 
She  made  no  move  to  come  any  further,  so  I  went  to  her. 
She  put  out  her  hand  in  a  most  friendly  manner  and  I 
squeezed  it  heartily.  She  expected  to  find  some  terrible 
change  in  my  looks,  but  found  none,  except  a  lump  on  my 
forehead  about  the  size  of  a  goose  egg.  Her  father  had 
told  her  that  I  would  not  be  able  to  take  solid  food  for  at 
least  two  weeks  so  she  had  only  brought  some  soup.  When 
she  found  that  I  was  able  and  willing  to  eat  anything  in 
the  food  line  she  insisted  upon  going  back  for  something 
more  substantial  than  soup.  I  asked  her  not  to  bother, 
as  I  could  go  to  the  cook-house  for  dinner.  She  told  me 
she  would  bring  me  something  next  day  and  also  some 
books  for  Swanson  to  teach  me  English.  I  thanked  her 
and  said  I  should  never  forget  her,  at  which  she  laughed 
heartily. 

She  wanted  to  know  if  I  did  not  feel  sore  after  the 
beating  I  had  received,  and  when  I  told  her  "  No  "  she 
seemed  surprised  because  MacDougall  was  very  much  so 
after  his  fight,  she  having  been  told  so  by  MacDougalPs 
daughter. 

I  asked  her  why  she  had  not  brought  her  little  sister 
with  her.  She  informed  me  that  her  father  said  I  was  a 
most  gruesome  sight  to  behold  and  he  was  afraid  she  would 
not  recognise  me.  It  appeared  that  Miss  Betsey  had  been 
misinformed  about  the  whole  business,  so  I  was  anxious  to 
make  it  right.  Seeing  the  cook  coming  toward  us,  I 
thought  he  might  explain  matters  more  clearly,  but  the 
question  was,  would  he? 


44.  YANKEE    SWANSON 

I  was  suspicious  of  the  cook,  as  it  was  hard  work  for 
him  to  tell  the  truth.  He  handed  me  a  couple  of  letters 
from  home,  and  nodded  his  head  in  a  familiar  manner  to 
Miss  Duncan,  at  the  same  time  taking  the  board  upon 
which  I  had  been  writing  and  arranging  a  comfortable 
seat  for  her.  After  inviting  her  to  be  seated  he  squirted 
a  streak  of  tobacco  juice  into  the  river,  wiped  his  mouth 
with  the  back  of  his  hand,  pointed  with  his  thumb  over 
his  shoulder  at  me,  and  said  something  about  my  not 
having  any  sense  and  begging  her  not  to  be  offended. 
Then  he  squatted  down  on  his  haunches  like  an  Indian  and 
started  to  relate  a  lot  of  things  which  were  probably  lies, 
but  they  amused  her,  because  she  laughed  heartily  at  what 
he  was  saying. 

I  felt  angry  with  the  cook,  as  I  wanted  him  to  put  me 
right  with  Miss  Duncan  regarding  the  fight.  After  a 
while  tikere  was  a  lull.  I  supposed  he  was  inventing  a 
new  lie,  so  I  said,  "  Here,  cook,  tell  Miss  Duncan  about 
the  fight.  She  has  been  told  that  I  got  the  worst  of  it. 
Please  tell  her  the  truth,  cook,  and  I  will  promise  to  treat 
you  to  a  pint  of  stout  this  evening." 

"  I  am  sorry  you  did  not  speak  about  that  before.  It 
is  too  late  now.  I  wanted  her  to  feel  sorry  for  you,  and 
on  that  account  said  Axel  knocked  the  stuffing  out  of  you, 
and  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  mate  and  myself  you 
would  have  been  knocked  out  for  keeps." 

There  were  two  buckets  of  water  standing  close  by, 
which  I  kept  handy  to  pour  over  the  fire  when  my  day's 
work  was  done,  and  also  when  the  pitch  boiled  over,  which 
it  sometimes  did.  It  was  my  fire  department.  Unable  to 
control  my  temper,  I  was  roused  into  a  frenzy  by  the 
cook's  mischievous  falsehoods,  and  immediately  charged 
him  with  the  whole  fire  department,  which  paralyzed  him 
for  a  moment  as  such  a  thing  was  entirely  unexpected. 
He  must  have  thought  that  Niagara  Falls  had  broken 


YANKEE    SWANSON  45 

loose,  and  not  being  a  friend  of  clean  water,  he  must  have 
felt  very  uncomfortable.  After  using  the  water,  I  picked 
up  a  piece  of  firewood,  expecting  the  cook  to  charge.  I 
did  not  have  long  to  wait;  he  came  at  me  like  a  mad 
bull,  and  I  let  fly  the  piece  of  wood  which  caught  him  on 
the  head,  knocking  his  hat  off.  On  he  came,  and  I  ran 
towards  the  road  but  had  the  misfortune  to  stumble  and 
fall  on  my  face.  Before  I  could  get  up  he  had  me  by  the 
neck  and  started  to  drag  me  to  the  pitch  pot. 

My  little  friend  enjoyed  this  episode  immensely  until 
she  saw  that  the  cook  was  master  of  the  situation.  Then 
she  began  to  fear  that  there  was  real  danger  for  me.  She 
told  me  afterwards  that  she  thought  the  cook  was  going 
to  burn  me  in  the  pitch  pot,  and  if  so,  it  was  time  for 
her  to  act.  With  the  piece  of  wood  she  had  been  seated 
upon  she  flew  at  the  cook  and  belaboured  his  old  head 
until  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  give  her  some  atten- 
tion. Taking  advantage  of  this,  I  began  kicking  at  his 
legs,  with  the  result  that  he  gave  up  the  unfair  fight  which 
was  now  beyond  his  control  and  retreated  towards  the 
cook-house  in  a  most  undignified  manner. 

Just  then  some  small  boys  happened  to  come  along  the 
road  and  asked  the  cause  of  the  exciting  chase.  Betsey 
told  them  that  the  cook  had  tried  to  burn  me  up,  and  would 
have  succeeded  if  she  had  not  intervened.  The  boys 
joined  in  the  chase,  hurling  stones  and  pieces  of  coal  at 
him,  which  made  matters  worse  for  the  cook. 

By  the  time  he  reached  the  cook-house  he  was  exhausted 
and  closed  the  door  as  soon  as  he  entered,  while  my  friend 
and  I  went  back  to  the  pitch  pot. 

It  was  now  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  as  yet  I  had  had 
nothing  to  eat  and  there  were  my  letters  waiting  to  be 
read ;  but  I  did  not  open  them,  knowing  well  that  I  would 
not  enjoy  them  with  this  terrible  hunger  gnawing  in  my 
stomach.  While  thinking  the  matter  over,  a  calker  came 


46  YANKEE    SWANSON 

to  get  some  pitch  and  not  finding  it  ready  asked  what  was 
the  matter.  I  told  Betsey  to  explain,  which  she  did  in  a 
most  satisfactory  way  because  the  calker  laughed  as  I 
never  saw  anybody  laugh  before.  He  swayed  his  body 
back  and  forth,  supporting  his  sides  as  if  afraid  they  would 
burst,  finally  throwing  himself  on  the  ground  alongside  of 
the  pitch  pot,  he  roared  and  grunted  so  that  we  thought 
he  was  having  a  fit.  After  a  while  the  calker  came  to 
his  senses,  got  up  and  took  a  pinch  of  snuff,  picked  up  one 
of  the  buckets  and  went  down  to  the  river  to  fill  it.  Com- 
ing back,  he  put  the  fire  out  and  took  the  pitch  pot,  calling 
to  me  to  come  along.  I  said  "  Good-bye  "  to  my  friend, 
glad  enough  to  leave,  as  I  was  very  hungry. 

I  told  the  calker  about  the  state  of  my  stomach.  He 
seemed  surprised  at  what  I  told  him,  and  called  a  fellow 
who  seemed  to  be  looking  for  a  job  and  told  him  to  carry 
the  pot  down  to  the  Forsette.  The  calker  and  I  very  soon 
fetched  up  at  a  nice  eating-house.  Evidently  he  was  a 
regular  patron  of  the  place,  as  he  seemed  to  know  every 
one.  A  handsome  waitress  came  up  to  us  and  the  calker 
gave  his  order.  They  appeared  to  be  on  very  friendly 
terms,  judging  from  their  conversation.  I  did  not  like 
that,  as  I  hoped  she  would  go  off  and  get  our  order  first 
and  then  come  back  for  the  chat.  It  seemed  she  had  for- 
gotten all  about  it  for  the  time  being,  and  the  calker 
looked  as  though  he  was  going  to  throw  another  fit.  He 
threw  himself  on  the  table  and  upset  two  water  bottles, 
and  the  waitress  dropped  into  a  chair  almost  powerless 
to  control  herself.  It  seemed  contagious,  this  laughing; 
every  person  in  the  room  was  soon  laughing,  except  my- 
self, and  I  guess  I  would  have  been,  too,  if  I  had  not  been 
so  hungry. 

At  last  the  waitress  thought  it  was  time  to  see  about 
our  order,  and  when  she  came  back  she  placed  some  bread 
and  butter  on  the  table.  I  felt  like  starting  in  on  that, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  47 

but  as  the  calker  made  no  move,  I  hesitated.  After  some 
time  the  steaks  and  potatoes  came,  with  plenty  of  coffee. 
The  calker  invited  me  to  help  myself,  which  I  did.  I 
certainly  enjoyed  my  dinner,  and  commenced  to  feel  like 
myself  again.  The  calker  remarked  that  I  seemed  to  be 
in  a  hurry,  but  I  took  out  my  letters  and  showed  that  they 
were  unopened. 

He  observed  that  I  was  somewhat  excited,  as  well  I 
might  be,  not  knowing  what  sort  of  lies  the  cook  had 
invented  for  my  benefit  to  tell  the  captain  and  first  officer. 
As  far  as  the  mate  was  concerned,  I  felt  easy  enough,  but 
with  the  captain  it  was  a  different  case  altogether.  I  was 
afraid  he  would  think  I  had  not  shown  sufficient  respect 
for  old  age,  even  if,  as  in  this  case,  old  age  had  forfeited 
all  respect  by  telling  lies  to  a  friend. 

While  we  had  been  eating,  a  number  of  Duncan's  men 
who  worked  on  the  Forsette  came  into  the  restaurant,  and 
when  they  saw  the  calker  and  me  sitting  there  they  came 
over  to  us  and  started  to  relate  the  cook's  version  of  the 
case.  It  was  just  as  I  suspected  —  a  story  without  a  word 
of  truth  in  it.  He  had  told  the  captain  that  without  any 
reason  I  had  enticed  a  lot  of  young  men  to  waylay  him 
and  beat  him  up,  but  he  had  fought  with  his  usual  bravery, 
having  finally  to  give  up  on  account  of  the  great  number 
of  young  men  who  were  beating  him  up  with  stones  and 
scantlings.  The  calker  said  that  under  the  circumstances 
they  would  all  go  down  to  the  ship  with  me  and  give  the 
captain  and  everybody  else  concerned  the  true  facts  of  the 
case.  I  was  very  glad  of  this,  as  I  did  not  know  how  the 
captain  would  take  it. 

Arriving  at  the  Forsette,  we  found  all  the  sailors  and 
second  mate  ready  to  go  ashore  to  get  something  to  eat,  as 
the  cook  had  nothing  ready,  his  excuse  being  that  the 
other  cooks  had  robbed  him  of  his  stores;  that  he  was 
unable  to  defend  himself  owing  to  the  terrible  beating  he 


48  YANKEE    SWANSON 

had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  ruffians  I  had  set  upon 
him. 

The  calker  who  had  been  so  kind  to  me  took  it  upon 
himself  to  be  the  spokesman.  He  related  to  the  captain 
and  the  mate  all  that  Betsey  had  told  him.  Perhaps  he 
exaggerated  a  little,  but  if  so,  it  must  have  been  in  our 
favour.  I  say  "  our,"  because  Miss  Duncan  did  as  much 
damage  as  I  did.  The  captain  tried  to  put  on  a  dignified 
look,  but  could  hardly  restrain  himself  while  listening  to 
the  calker's  ridiculous  tale.  Everybody,  including  the 
mate,  joined  in  the  fun,  until  the  poor  cook,  who  was 
sitting  on  the  main  hatch,  his  face  buried  in  his  hands, 
every  inch  a  fallen  hero,  could  stand  it  no  longer  so  he  got 
up  and  walked  into  his  galley. 

After  the  calker  and  his  companion  had  left  the  ship, 
the  captain  called  me  aft,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  mate 
asked  me  to  tell  the  whole  story  regarding  myself  and  the 
cook.  After  I  had  finished  the  story  he  seemed  to  reflect 
upon  it  for  a  moment,  and  finally  said :  "  Well,  boy,  I 
don't  blame  you  for  getting  angry  with  the  old  cook  on 
account  of  the  lies  he  told  about  you,  but  you  should  have 
had  some  respect  for  old  age,  when  you  threw  the 
water  on  him;  besides  the  cook  is  a  born  liar,  but  it  is 
mostly  about  himself  and  does  nobody  any  harm.  There- 
fore you  will  have  to  apologise  to  him  at  once.  I  can't 
understand  how  that  little  girl  of  Duncan's  could  raise  all 
these  bumps  on  his  head.  If  I  did  not  know  different  I 
would  swear  that  Swanson  had  been  giving  her  a  few 
lessons.  Are  you  sure  you  did  not  assist  her  with  a 
scantling  ?" 

I  told  him  that  I  had  confined  myself  entirely  to  his 
legs,  and  that  Miss  Duncan  had  attended  to  the  head 
decorations.  Mr.  Swanson  grinned  and  said  something 
about  Miss  Duncan's  having  shown  considerable  skill  and 
generalship.  He  praised  her  courage  in  tackling  an  old 


YANKEE    SWANSON  49 

campaigner  like  the  cook  when  she  thought  her  friend  was 
in  danger.  "  Anyhow  I  will  hear  all  about  it  this  even- 
ing," he  said,  "  as  I  have  an  invitation  to  call  on  the 
family.  The  cargo  will  all  be  out  by  to-morrow,  and  this 
being  my  last  chance  to  call  I  will  take  the  boy  along  and 
bring  him  face  to  face  with  the  girl.  I  am  anxious  to  find 
out  all  about  this  episode  before  we  apologise  to  the  cook." 

The  captain  thought  that  was  a  good  scheme  and 
ordered  me  forward.  All  the  sailors  except  Axel  had 
gone  ashore  to  get  something  to  eat.  He  did  not  like 
being  seen  by  anybody  on  account  of  his  swollen  nose  and 
black  eye. 

I  sat  down  on  my  box  and  started  to  read  the  letters 
from  home.  They  did  not  contain  much  news,  as  they 
were  all  written  a  few  days  after  we  left.  Mother  in  par- 
ticular warned  me  to  be  good  and  to  always  walk  the  nar- 
row path.  Grandpa  scribbled  a  few  lines,  telling  me  he 
was  taking  care  of  my  pigeons ;  that  his  old  dog  Blucher 
missed  me  a  great  deal,  so  much  so  that  he  did  not  eat  for 
several  days  after  I  left ;  also  that  my  younger  brother 
was  not  successful  at  turning  the  grindstone,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence his  tools  were  not  in  the  condition  they  used  to 
be.  "  But  I  don't  blame  him,  I  have  nothing  to  recom- 
pense him  with.  He  does  not  care  for  my  stories  of  '  Old 
!N"ap.'  He  is  a  good  boy,  though,  and  misses  you  a  great 
deal,  as  do  the  rest  of  us." 

This  brought  tears  to  my  eyes.  I  tried  to  hide  them 
because  Axel  was  sitting  there  looking  at  me.  I  was  not 
ashamed,  but  I  did  not  want  him  to  think  I  was  repenting 
my  treatment  of  him. 

Just  then  the  cook  came  up  and  told  Axel  that  in  the 
future  he  was  to  help  carry  the  stores  and  cooking  utensils 
to  and  from  the  cook-house.  In  other  words  Axel  had 
been  promoted  because  I  couldn't  cook  anything  except 
pitch. 


50  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Axel  did  not  take  kindly  to  this  advancement.  He 
considered  it  a  step  backward.  I  did  my  best  to  encour- 
age him  to  accept  the  position,  telling  him  that  it  would  be 
splendid  to  see  him  and  the  cook  walking  up  the  street  to- 
gether with  their  bruised  faces.  I  also  said  that  I  had 
heard  the  mate  say  that  to-morrow  would  be  the  last  day 
for  calking,  and  that  he  much  preferred  Axel  to  me  for 
assistant  cook  because  I  was  a  better  sailor. 

!Nb  more  was  said  about  the  subject  that  evening.  I 
turned  in  to  go  to  sleep,  but  some  drunks  came  in  shortly 
and  woke  me  up  with  their  noise.  They  were  laughing 
about  the  cook's  adventure  with  me.  They  said  it  was  the 
talk  of  the  town.  One  fellow  in  particular  raised  such  a 
racket  that  Swanson,  hearing  it  all,  walked  into  the  fo'c'sle 
grabbed  him  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck  and  with  a  swift 
kick  landed  him  out  on  the  deck  on  all  fours.  The  poor 
fellow  was  a  sight  when  he  came  back  into  the  fo'c'sle. 
The  cook  got  a  rag  and  some  water  to  wash  him  with,  then 
decorated  him  with  sticking  plaster  until  he  looked  like  a 
scarecrow. 

I  did  not  sleep  very  much  that  night  on  account  of 
thinking  of  home,  and  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  I 
wished  I  was  back  again.  I  felt  restless  in  the  morning 
when  I  turned  out,  and  not  waiting  for  Axel  to  come  with 
the  coffee  I  went  on  shore. 

My  intentions  were  to  visit  the  eating-house  where  the 
calker  and  I  had  dined  previously.  When  I  reached 
there  a  young  fellow  was  just  opening  up  the  place.  He 
said  good  morning  and  asked  me  what  I  wanted.  I  told 
him  I  wanted  a  cup  of  coffee. 

"  A  cup  of  coffee  ?  "  he  said.  "  What's  the  matter  with 
Munchausen?  Is  he  past  repairing,  and  did  Yankee 
Swanson  send  him  to  the  undertaker?  The  fellow  who 
was  punished  last  night  is  a  sight.  I  swear  his  mother 
wouldn't  know  him.  He  was  in  here  last  night  for  his 


JACK  LE  FEVRE  WHEN  I  FIRST  SAW  HIM. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  51 

hash.  He  was  telling  us  what  he  is  going  to  do  to  Yankee 
Swanson  before  he  quits  the  ship.  How  does  Yankee 
look?" 

I  told  him  that  I  had  not  seen  the  mate  since  last  night, 
so  could  not  vouch  for  his  looks. 

"  Well,  after  I  have  straightened  up  a  bit  I'll  go  down 
and  take  a  look  at  Yankee.  However,  go  in  if  you  want 
some  coffee.  You  will  find  the  lassie  there,  and  she  will 
attend  to  your  wants.  Never  mind  paying  for  it.  Tell 
her  that  Jimmie  is  good  for  it." 

I  entered  the  place  and  found  the  same  girl  whom  I  had 
met  the  evening  before.  I  asked  her  for  a  cup  of  coffee. 
She  brought  it,  also  some  bread  and  butter.  After  I  had 
finished  I  took  out  my  purse  to  pay  for  it,  but  the  girl 
would  not  accept  any  money,  saying,  "  This  is  on  me, 
laddie."  I  thanked  her  and  went  out.  Not  finding 
Jimmie  I  went  back  to  the  ship. 

I  found  Mr.  Swanson  standing  on  the  quay.  He  came 
towards  me  and  asked  if  I  had  seen  anything  of  Gustave, 
the  fellow  he  had  had  the  trouble  with  the  previous  even- 
ing. I  told  him  what  I  had  heard  at  the  eating-house. 
"  Then,"  he  said,  "  that  fellow  has  run  away,  and  it  is  a 
good  riddance.  I  wish  some  more  of  these  clowns  would 
take  a  walk  before  they  make  trouble."  He  told  me  that 
it  would  be  my  last  day  at  boiling  pitch,  as  the  calking 
was  nearly  finished,  and  the  cargo  would  all  be  out  by 
evening.  On  the  following  day  we  were  to  go  to  the  coal- 
bunkers,  where  it  would  only  take  a  few  hours  to  load, 
after  which  we  would  have  to  get  out  of  the  dock  and 
anchor  in  the  Firth  until  ready  to  go  to  sea. 

He  told  me  to  keep  a  sharp  look  out,  and  notice  what 

was  going  on,  as  we  were  going  to  rig  out  the  jib-boom 

and  the  royal  yards  were  to  be  sent  aloft  before  evening. 

Leaving  him,  I  walked  down  to  the  pitch  boiling  place 

and  started  the  fire.     After  a  while  a  calker  came  along 


52  YANKEE    SWANSON 

with  a  pitch  pot,  which  he  placed  upon  the  fire  and  then 
lighted  his  pipe.  He  sat  down  to  rest  and  enjoy  his 
smoke  while  the  pitch  was  cooking.  He  told  me  that  only 
one  more  pot  would  be  required,  and  remarked  that  he 
guessed  I  would  be  glad  to  hear  of  that.  I  gave  him  to 
understand  that  I  enjoyed  the  work  very  much  indeed, 
and  felt  sorry  that  it  had  come  to  an  end  so  soon. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  you  have  made  a  good  many  friends, 
and  I  suppose  you  will  be  sorry  to  leave  them." 

I  admitted  that  the  Scotch  were  great  people  and  that  I 
would  miss  them  all,  himself  included.  This  seemed  to 
please  him  and  he  asked  me  if  the  boss  had  said  anything 
to  me  about  money.  I  told  him  no.  "  Well,  he  will  be- 
fore you  go  away.  All  of  us  have  given  him  to  under- 
stand that  you  are  to  be  paid  a  pound,  which  is  to  be  taken 
out  of  our  wages.  You  are  worth  more  than  that,  but 
we  are  all  poor  men,  and  that  is  all  we  can  afford.  Be- 
sides, the  boss  will  do  a  little  on  his  own  account.  He  has 
plenty  of  money,  but  don't  say  I  told  you."  I  promised 
him  that  I  would  not,  and  the  pitch  being  at  boiling  point, 
he  took  his  pot  and  off  he  went. 

Some  time  previous  to  the  above  events  there  occurred 
a  certain  incident  which  was  to  be  the  introduction  to  a 
long  friendship. 

One  day  at  the  pitch  pot  I  noticed  a  boy  standing  on 
the  road  looking  down  towards  me.  I  had  seen  him  sev- 
eral times  before  at  the  cook-house,  where  he  had  made 
himself  generally  useful  helping  the  cook.  He  seemed  to 
be  of  a  happy  disposition,  always  jolly  and  good-natured, 
even  when  the  cooks  called  him  nasty  names  or  refused  to 
give  him  anything  to  eat  after  doing  some  work  for  them. 
He  would  grin  and  take  it  as  a  joke.  His  clothes  were 
nothing  but  rags,  and  his  shoes  had  neither  heels  nor  toes. 
In  short,  his  appearance  was  awful.  I  had  never  seen 
any  one  so  ragged  and  dirty  before.  I  beckoned  him  to 


YANKEE    SWANSON  58 

come  down.  He  hesitated  a  moment,  looking  up  and  down 
the  road  as  if  expecting  some  one.  When  he  came  down 
to  where  I  was,  I  asked  him  if  he  was  hungry.  I  offered 
him  a  couple  of  hard-tacks  that  I  happened  to  have  in  my 
pocket,  and  he  thanked  me  in  such  a  gentlemanly  manner 
that  it  struck  me  as  peculiar  in  such  a  dirty  boy.  His 
English  was  different  from  what  I  was  accustomed  to 
hearing  in  Grangemouth.  I  therefore  concluded  that  he 
was  a  stranger. 

After  he  had  finished  the  biscuits  he  asked  me  for  a 
drink  of  water.  I  handed  it  to  him,  and  he  took  a  long, 
deep  drink.  Then  he  patted  himself  on  the  stomach  in  a 
most  comical  manner.  I  think  he  wanted  me  to  under- 
stand that  he  would  now  be  all  right  for  twenty-four  hours 
anyhow.  Taking  a  seat  upon  the  ground,  he  looked  at 
me  for  a  long  time  with  such  pleading,  sorrowful  eyes  that 
I  felt  sorry  for  the  poor  little  fellow.  Very  soon  he  asked 
me  if  I  liked  music.  When  I  told  him  I  did,  he  took  out 
a  little  tin  pipe  from  his  pocket,  wiping  it  tenderly  with  a 
dirty  rag,  then  running  over  the  scales  a  few  times  he 
finally  began  to  play  the  "  Marseillaisa"  Nothing  could 
have  suited  me  better,  as  I  at  once  thought  of  grandpa.  It 
was  his  favourite  tune  and  the  only  one  he  cared  anything 
about.  I  tried  to  keep  tune  to  it  by  singing,  which  pleased 
the  little  musician  very  much ;  so  much  so  that  he  started 
to  march  back  and  forth,  causing  me  to  feel  afraid  that 
he  and  his  rags  would  soon  part  company. 

After  he  had  repeated  the  "  Marseillaise  "  several  times 
he  sat  down  and  asked  me  if  I  liked  dancing.  When  he 
found  that  I  did,  he  said  he  would  dance  for  me  after 
resting  a  little.  I  then  thought  he  must  be  a  lost  actor 
or  something  equally  interesting. 

Having  rested  a  little,  he  took  out  a  harmonica  and 
rubbed  it  up  a  bit.  He  then  ran  up  and  down  the  scales 
to  see  if  it  was  in  tune,  but  shook  his  head  as  if  doubtful 


54,  YANKEE    SWANSON 

of  the  result.  After  several  attempts  at  blowing,  he 
struck  up  the  "  Blue  Danube,"  which  he  played  through  to 
see  if  he  had  the  right  key.  Taking  a  careful  inspection 
of  his  shoes  before  dancing,  as  if  he  intended  to  make  a 
good  job  of  it  this  time,  he  again  struck  up  the  waltz. 
The  boy  danced  well,  considering  the  bad  shape  of  the 
ground,  which  was  covered  with  sand,  gravel,  and  pieces 
of  brick  scattered  everywhere;  and  worst  of  all,  here  and 
there  were  big  lumps  of  pitch  in  the  sand,  caused  by  the 
boiler  overflowing.  I  knew  it  would  be  the  means  of 
causing  disaster  to  his  shoes  and  called  his  attention  to  the 
fact. 

I  was  too  late,  and  the  boy  was  not  listening  to  anything 
except  his  music  when  the  catastrophe  happened.  In 
executing  some  fancy  step  he  managed  to  get  his  feet 
tangled  up  in  a  pitch  patch,  with  the  result  that  he  fell 
and  left  the  soles  of  his  shoes  stuck  in  the  pitch.  The 
poor  boy  picked  himself  up,  walked  over  to  where  he  had 
got  stuck,  and  stood  there  looking  at  the  soles  of  his  shoes 
for  some  time.  He  was  evidently  figuring  if  it  was  worth 
while  to  recover  them.  Observing  his  perplexity,  I  told 
him  not  to  mind,  as  I  would  give  him  a  pair,  having  two 
pairs  of  my  own,  and  that  I  would  fetch  them  for  him  if 
he  would  look  after  the  pitch  while  I  was  gone.  Upon 
hearing  this  he  became  good  natured  at  once,  and  wanted 
to  know  what  he  had  to  look  out  for.  I  showed  him  how 
and  left  for  the  ship.  On  my  way  I  met  one  of  the 
calkers  and  told  him  about  the  stranger,  as  I  was  afraid 
he  would  molest  the  boy  if  he  did  not  know  the  reason  for 
his  being  there. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  ship  I  found  Swanson  on  the 
dock  talking  to  one  of  the  Scotchmen.  Observing  me,  he 
asked  me  why  I  had  come  back  to  the  ship,  thinking  some- 
thing had  gone  wrong  with  the  pitch  pot.  I  told  him 
about  the  strange  boy  I  had  met,  and  also  what  I  had  come 


YANKEE    SWANSON  55 

to  fetch  for  him.  He  thought  for  a  moment.  Then  he 
said,  "  Can  you  spare  the  shoes  ?  "  I  told  him  that  I  had 
two  pairs  beside  the  ones  I  had  oru  I  also  said  that  it  was 
my  intention  to  take  him  a  shirt  and  some  other  things 
that  I  could  very  well  spare,  as  the  boy  was  almost  naked. 
The  mate  then  told  me  that  I  was  not  to  give  anything 
until  he  saw  the  boy,  as  he  was  afraid  that  he  was  some 
ragamuffin  playing  on  my  sympathies.  He  then  ordered 
me  to  return  to  work  and  to  send  the  boy  up  to  him,  when 
he  would  look  him  over  and  perhaps  give  him  something 
to  do  if  the  boy  was  found  worthy  of  it. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  spot  I  found  the  boy  occupied  in 
dancing  a  hornpipe  with  his  bare  feet,  having  discarded 
the  uppers  in  expectation  of  what  I  had  promised  him. 
He  was  playing  the  tin  pipe  and  the  calker  was  beating 
time  on  the  pitch  pot  with  a  piece  of  rock.  Miss  Duncan 
and  several  more  of  her  friends  were  spectators.  The 
little  kids  were  turning  somersaults  and  performing  some 
amusing  tricks.  Miss  Duncan  asked  if  I  could  do  any- 
thing like  that.  Confessing  my  inability,  and  feeling  very 
jealous,  I  thought  that  if  the  youngster  was  only  properly 
clothed  he  would  soon  be  creating  havoc  among  the  hearts 
of  the  ladies,  and  that  I  certainly  would  not  be  in  it  for 
one  moment.  I  enjoyed  the  dancing  as  much  as  the  chil- 
dren. I  was  only  a  child  myself,  although  I  "  paddled  my 
own  canoe."  The  old  calker  enjoyed  it  more  than  any 
one  else.  When  the  dancing  came  to  an  end  he  was  pro- 
nounced a  success. 

The  poor  boy  had  been  so  busy  entertaining  the  girls 
that  he  had  not  noticed  my  arrival.  When  he  did  observe 
me  and  saw  that  I  had  brought  nothing  he  became  very 
down-hearted,  but  was  gentleman  enough  not  to  say  any- 
thing. The  calker  started  to  leave  with  the  pitch  pot, 
when  I  asked  him  to  take  the  boy  along  to  the  mate,  who 
wished  to  see  him.  The  calker  looked  dubious  at  that, 


56  YANKEE    SWANSON 

and  said,  "  What  can  Yankee  Swanson  want  with  that 
boy  ?  Perhaps  he  is  going  to  let  Munchausen  adopt  him, 
as  the  cook  told  me  yesterday  that  he  had  a  lot  of  salt 
horse  that  had  gone  bad  on  him,  and  he  may  employ  the 
boy  to  consume  it." 

I  told  the  calker  that  he  was  mistaken,  as  Swanson 
intended  to  give  the  boy  something  to  do,  if  everything 
was  satisfactory.  The  calker  looked  at  me  for  a  moment, 
and  then  burst  out  laughing,  as  if  it  was  all  one  huge 
joke.  He  said,  "  Sonny,  that  is  the  funniest  yet.  Fancy 
Swanson  giving  up  anything,  except  such  as  he  gave  Mac- 
Dougall." 

I  could  not  help  laughing,  as  it  was  true,  in  a  way, 
never  having  seen  Swanson  give  anything  away  myself 
before;  but  then,  there  was  no  reason  why  he  should  not 
do  so  if  he  wished.  The  calker  told  the  boy  to  come 
along,  and  he  looked  at  me  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Is  it  all 
right  ?  "  I  nodded  approval,  and  off  they  went  to  the 
ship.  My  visitors  having  had  enough  fun,  also  said 
"  Good-bye,"  and  left  me  to  think  what  sort  of  a  reception 
the  boy  would  get  from  Swanson. 


VI 

MK.  SWA]STSO!N"  gave  the  boy  a  much  better  reception 
than  I  expected.  The  boy's  story  was  a  strange 
and  sad  one.  There  was  no  reason  to  think  that  he  was 
telling  an  untruth.  He  has  since  told  it  to  me  many 
times,  and  I  shall  relate  it  further  on  in  my  narrative.  I 
prefer  to  do  this,  because  when  I  decided  to  write  these 
reminiscences  I  thought  it  would  be  best  to  relate  things 
just  as  they  occurred,  or  as  I  remember  them. 

Mr.  Swanson  felt  satisfied  with  the  truth  of  the  boy's 
story.  He  and  Captain  Bengston  interested  themselves 
in  the  boy  and  bought  some  good  cheap  clothes  and  shoes 
for  him,  but  did  not  allow  him  to  put  them  on  until  he  had 
a  good  scrubbing  down  with  "  sudje  mudje,"  while  Axel 
and  Munchausen  had  to  swallow  the  mortification  of  being 
compelled  to  fetch  hot  water  from  the  cook-house  for  that 
purpose.  Swanson  told  the  cook  that  he  would  hold  him 
responsible  if  the  job  was  not  done  properly. 

The  boy  had  a  home  for  the  time  being.  Swanson 
made  him  cabin  boy,  and  his  name  went  on  the  Articles 
(Jack  Le  Fevre)  at  twenty-five  cents  per  month.  He  be- 
came a  useful  member  of  the  crew  and  was  well  liked  by 
everybody  except  Axel.  The  cook  admitted  that  the  boy 
stood  ace-high  with  him.  Jack  and  I  became  warm 
friends  from  the  day  he  entertained  me  with  his  music  and 
dancing,  and  ever  since  we  have  been  on  the  most  friendly 
terms. 

It  being  my  last  day  at  the  pitch  establishment,  I  said 
"  Good-bye  "  to  a  number  of  friends  who  called.  None  of 
the  Duncan  family  came,  as  Mr.  Swanson  had  promised  to 

57 


58  YANKEE    SWANSON 

call  on  them  that  evening,   and  was  going  to  take  me 
along. 

I  went  up  to  the  cook-house  for  dinner,  which  I  found 
to  be  quite  an  elaborate  affair.  Evidently  the  cook  was 
giving  pointers  in  fancy  cooking  to  the  other  cooks.  For 
some  reason  or  another  the  cook  was  very  affable  to  me, 
giving  me  the  best  of  everything.  He  spoke  very  highly 
of  me  to  the  other  cooks,  and  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
all  about  the  affair  at  the  pitch  pot.  I  felt  sure  that  he 
had  a  card  up  his  sleeve  to  spring  on  me  when  an  oppor- 
tunity offered. 

After  dinner  I  went  back  to  the  pitch  pot  and  waited 
for  the  calker  to  come  for  the  last  of  it.  I  did  not  have 
long  to  wait,  for  he  and  Jack  soon  came  along.  Jack  had 
a  wheelbarrow,  into  which  we  put  the  wood  that  was  left 
over,  and  several  other  things  that  I  had  made  use  of. 
The  abandonment  of  the  camp  made  me  feel  a  little  down- 
hearted, as  I  had  had  a  fine  time  there  and  would  miss  it 
a  great  deal. 

When  we  reached  the  Forsette  we  found  the  boss  calker 
and  the  captain  settling  up  their  accounts.  Jack  and  I 
were  busy  getting  the  things  on  board,  because  after  that 
was  done  our  day's  work  was  completed  and  we  could  wash 
up. 

When  I  reported  to  Swanson  he  told  me  to  clean  up  a 
bit  avnd  put  on  my  good  clothes,  and  report  to  the  old  man 
in  the  cabin.  "  The  remainder  of  the  day  is  yours,"  he 
said.  "  To-night  we  will  take  a  little  trip  ashore,  and  to- 
morrow we  will  get  our  coal  on  board,  and  then  away  we 
go." 

I  went  up  to  the  cook-house  to  get  a  bucket  of  hqt  water, 
which  the  cook  gave  to  me  without  any  trouble.  He  also 
presented  me  with  a  piece  of  Castile  soap,  which  I  suppose 
he  had  stolen  from  one  of  the  other  cooks.  After  bathing 
and  dressing  myself,  I  reported  to  the  captain,  who  told 


YANKEE    SWANSON  59 

me  that  the  boss  calker  was  well  satisfied  with  the  way 
I  had  supplied  his  men  with  pitch,  and  the  men  had  asked 
him  to  pay  me  a  pound  of  their  wages.  Captain  Bengston 
handed  me  the  money,  and  informed  me  that  the  boss  had 
given  him  an  order  for  a  suit  of  clothes  for  me.  He  told 
me  to  accompany  him,  as  he  had  business  up  town,  and 
would  see  that  I  got  properly  fitted.  On  the  way  we 
stopped  at  the  cook-house,  where  the  captain  spoke  to  the 
cook  about  some  stores  that  he  expected  down  in  the  morn- 
ing. While  the  captain  was  talking,  the  cook  kept  his 
weather  eye  on  me,  being  curious  to  know  what  I  was  doing 
in  company  with  the  old  man.  When  the  captain  was 
through  with  him,  he  managed  to  edge  up  to  me,  although 
I  tried  to  avoid  him,  and  whispered  in  my  ear,  "  Say,  boy, 
did  the  calker  give  you  anything  ? "  I  told  him  that  he 
had,  and  that  I  was  going  with  the  old  man  to  get  a  new 
suit  of  clothes.  "  Didn't  he  give  you  any  money  ?  I  have 
been  giving  him  hints  all  along  about  doing  something  for 
you,  and  I  thought  if  he  had  given  you  any  cash  I  would 
like  to  borrow  a  few  shillings,  as  I  have  a  few  friends  I 
would  like  to  call  on  this  evening.  The  old  man  won't 
give  me  any  more.  You  can  come  along  if  you  wish,  and 
I  will  make  it  pleasant  for  you.  I  have  no  hard  feelings 
against  you  on  account  of  that  little  racket  with  the  girl. 
It  was  her  fault.  I  was  only  fooling,  don't  you  see  ?  "  I 
had  a  few  shillings  in  my  pocket,  and  must  admit  that  I 
felt  sorry  for  the  poor  old  fellow.  He  was  not  so  bad,  and 
he  made  me  laugh  at  times.  So  I  gave  him  two  shillings, 
on  condition  that  we  be  friends  again.  I  did  not  stop  to 
listen  to  what  else  he  had  to  say,  as  the  captain  was  a  good 
way  ahead  of  me,  so  I  hurried  up  and  caught  him,  but 
walked  a  little  behind  him,  as  I  was  afraid  he  would  ask 
me  what  the  cook  wanted,  and  if  I  told  him  he  might  be 
angry  with  the  cook  and  me.  I  had  intended  giving  the 
few  shillings  to  Jack,  but  comforted  myself  with  the 


60  YANKEE    SWANSON 

thought  that  I  still  had  the  pound,  and  was  on  wages, 
thanks  to  Swanson. 

In  the  evening  Mr.  Swanson  and  I  went  out  to  call  on 
our  friends  for  the  last  time.  I  had  a  new  suit  of  clothes, 
and  so  had  Swanson.  He  looked  first  rate,  and  being  in 
good  humour,  we  chatted  as  we  walked  along. 

The  captain  had  shipped  another  sailor  to  take  the  place 
of  the  one  who  had  run  away.  Swanson  said  he  was  well 
pleased  with  him,  because  he  had  acted  during  the  day  as 
if  he  knew  his  business.  He  was  a  Swede,  but  had  sailed 
in  English  and  American  ships  and  spoke  English  well. 
We  met  several  people  whom  Swanson  knew,  and  they 
wanted  to  take  us  into  the  public-houses  and  treat,  but 
Swanson  excused  us  by  saying  that  I  did  not  drink. 

As  it  was  early  in  the  evening,  Swanson  took  me  to  a 
music  hall.  We  heard  a  couple  of  songs  and  saw  some 
fancy  dancing.  It  was  all  very  funny.  I  thought  of 
Jack,  and  said  that  he  could  beat  them  all.  Swanson 
laughed,  and  remarked  that  he  hoped  he  would  turn  out 
as  good  a  sailor  as  he  was  a  dancing  master.  "  He  is  a 
Frenchman,"  he  said,  "  and  as  a  rule  they  ain't  much  on 
salt  water;  but  I  suppose  there  are  exceptions." 

Passing  a  candy  store,  Swanson  said  to  me,  "  Have  you 
any  money  in  your  pocket  ?  "  I  told  him  that  I  had. 
"  Well,  then  buy  a  box  of  candy  for  the  ladies ;  that's  what 
we  do  in  America,  and  I  believe  it  is  the  style  here  also." 
He  selected  a  nice  box  and  I  paid  for  it. 

On  arriving  at  Mr.  Duncan's  house,  we  found  the  family 
sitting  out  on  the  doorstep.  They  seemed  very  glad  to 
see  us.  Mrs.  Duncan  said  I  looked  fine  in  my  new  suit. 
I  liked  that,  although  I  wished  Miss  Betsey  had  said  some- 
thing like  it ;  yet  she  was  kind  enough,  just  the  same,  and 
made  me  feel  at  home. 

Mr.  Duncan  was  the  first  one  to  say  anything  about  the 
racket  with  the  cook.  We  had  to  go  over  the  whole  story 


YANKEE    SWANSON  61 

again,  amidst  a  great  deal  of  laughter.  Betsey  deliber- 
ately told  how  she  had  beaten  the  cook  with  the  piece  of 
wood,  whereupon  Swanson  said  if  such  was  the  case  she 
would  have  to  come  to  the  ship  and  apologise  to  the  cook, 
as  he  had  told  the  captain  that  I  was  the  instigator  of  the 
whole  thing,  by  causing  a  lot  of  young  men  to  beat  him  up. 
Miss  Duncan  said  she  would  go  down  the  following  day  to 
see  us  off  when  we  hauled  out  of  the  dock,  and  if  the  cook 
was  not  in  hiding  she  would  give  him  some  more. 

Mr.  Swanson  had  evidently  forgotten  all  about  the 
candy.  I  had  not,  but  was  too  bashful  to  say  anything  or 
to  offer  it  to  Mrs.  or  Miss  Duncan.  I  kept  it  in  my  hand 
all  the  time  as  if  afraid  it  would  run  away.  I  finally  mus- 
tered up  courage  to  offer  it  to  Miss  Betsey.  She  looked  at 
it,  and  on  seeing  what  it  was,  blushed  a  little,  and  thanked 
me  in  the  very  kindest  way.  I  got  as  red  as  a  turkey 
cock.  Swanson  was  grinning  at  me,  and  I  thought  that 
every  person  was  doing  the  same.  I  was  glad  that  the 
jolly  calker  was  not  there,  for  I  am  sure  I  should  have 
made  for  the  door  and  run  away.  As  usual,  Swanson 
came  to  my  rescue.  He  told  them  that  I  was  bent  upon 
taking  something  to  Miss  Betsey,  because  she  had  been 
good  to  me,  and  that  he  proposed  to  buy  the  candy,  which 
he  felt  sure  she  would  appreciate.  Mrs.  Duncan  said  it 
was  very  kind  of  me  to  think  so  well  of  them ;  that  she  had 
taken  a  fancy  to  me  the  first  time  she  met  me  on  the  rail- 
road cars,  and  she  sincerely  hoped  that  we  would  meet 
again.  She  predicted  that  in  a  few  years  I  would  be 
captain  of  some  fine  big  vessel  like  the  Forsette.  "  Yes,  he 
will,"  spoke  up  Mr.  Duncan,  "  and  he  will  give  me  his 
stevedoring.  Won't  he,  Yankee  ?  " 

"  Of  course  he  will,"  said  Swanson,  "  and  then  he  can 
take  Betsey  to  Edinburgh  for  an  outing.  The  fat  woman 
will  be  dead  by  that  time."  This  caused  a  general  laugh, 


62  YANKEE    SWANSON 

and  I  had  to  laugh  myself,  at  the  mention  of  the  fat 
woman. 

Swanson  asked  Betsey  to  play  something  on  the  piano, 
which  she  did.  Afterwards  she  accompanied  Swanson 
while  he  sang  "  Suanee  River,"  "  Nancy  Lee,"  and  other 
songs. 

Swanson  told  about  our  new  boy  Jack.  Mrs.  Duncan 
said  she  would  help  the  little  fellow  in  the  way  of  clothes. 
She  said  she  had  seen  him  once  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  at 
some  park  in  Grangemouth,  where  he  had  been  dancing 
for  pennies  to  get  something  to  eat.  She  wondered  then 
who  he  was  and  where  he  came  from. 

Swanson  thought  it  was  time  for  us  to  go,  as  we  had  to 
be  wide  awake  next  morning,  and  there  was  a  great  deal 
to  be  done,  meaning  that  we  had  to  get  our  load  of  coal  on 
board  and  haul  the  ship  out  of  the  dock  and  anchor  her  in 
the  river. 

Miss  Betsey  gave  me  a  little  package  containing  books 
and  a  few  other  things  that  would  be  useful  to  me  at  sea. 
It  was  very  thoughtful  of  her,  and  I  thanked  her  and  ex- 
pressed my  gratitude  the  best  I  could.  Swanson  enlarged 
on  what  I  said  —  at  least  he  said  a  whole  lot.  Mrs.  Dun- 
can kept  looking  at  me  and  remarking,  "  the  poor  little 
fellow." 

We  said  "  Good-bye  "  with  a  good  deal  of  handshaking, 
and  hoped  we  would  come  back  to  Grangemouth  from 
Archangel.  Miss  Betsey  asked  me,  as  a  favour,  to  make 
good  use  of  the  books.  I  told  her  she  could  take  my  word 
for  it  that  they  would  be  completely  worn  out.  In  fact  I 
was  doubtful  if  they  would  last  that  long,  as  I  intended  to 
go  at  them  good  and  strong.  She  laughed  a  little  sadly. 
I  think  she  was  sorry  I  was  going  away,  and  we  were 
never  to  see  each  other  again,  perhaps;  but  we  did  meet 
again  years  afterwards,  but  in  another  part  of  the  world 
and  under  changed  conditions.  I  shall  tell  my  readers 


YANKEE    SWANSON  63 

about  it  when  I  get  that  far,  but  it  will  be  some  time  before 
I  can  do  so.  I  will  now  leave  the  Duncans  for  the  present ; 
but  they  were  such  nice  people  that  I  shall  never  forget 
them. 

When  we  got  out  into  the  street  Swanson  asked  me  if 
there  was  anything  I  wished  to  buy  before  going  on  board. 
I  told  him  that  I  would  like  to  get  a  shirt  and  a  pair  of 
socks  for  Jack.  Swanson  said  he  was  very  much  in  need 
of  such  things,  but  thought  that  the  Duncans  would  send 
something  down  for  him  in  the  morning,  as  he  was  sure 
Mr.  Duncan  would  come  to  see  him,  if  nobody  else  did. 
If  Mr.  Duncan  did  bring  these  things  then  I  could  keep 
them  for  myself.  I  told  him  that  I  had  promised  Jack 
something,  and  did  not  like  to  disappoint  him,  even  if  the 
Duncans  did  give  him  something.  We  looked  about  for  a 
store,  but  they  were  all  shut  up  for  the  night.  Swanson 
said  that  we  had  stayed  too  long,  but  he  promised  to  get  me 
what  I  wanted  in  the  morning.  When  we  reached  the 
dock  gate  we  saw  two  men  walking  ahead  of  us,  very  much 
under  the  influence  of  liquor.  They  were  arm  in  arm, 
supporting  each  other.  I  recognised  one  of  them  as  our 
cook  and  the  other  as  the  new  sailor  that  the  captain  had 
engaged  in  Grangemouth.  As  we  passed  them  the  cook 
shouted,  "  ship  ahoy,  there."  Mr.  Swanson  stopped  and 
took  hold  of  him  by  the  shoulder,  saying,  "  Is  that  you, 
cook  ?  "  When  the  cook  saw  to  whom  he  had  spoken,  he 
offered  all  manner  of  excuses,  but  Swanson  said  nothing. 
We  went  on  board,  and  our  friends  followed  as  best  they 
could. 

The  next  morning  we  were  astir  early.  The  cook,  who 
was  as  drunk  as  he  was  the  evening  before,  had  been  to 
the  cook-house  and  prepared  the  coffee  on  time.  I  was 
glad  of  it,  because  if  it  had  been  otherwise,  the  cook  would 
have  been  in  for  a  good  scolding,  if  nothing  worse. 

We  hauled  the  Forsette  down  to  the  dock  gate,  and  at 


64  YANKEE    SWANSON 

high  tide  we  passed  through  the  lock  and  entered  the  other 
dock,  where  we  loaded  the  coal. 

To  me  the  loading  was  an  odd  operation.  A  car  loaded 
with  coal,  weighing  ten  tons,  was  swung  out  over  the  main 
hatch.  A  pull  at  a  tripping  line  disconnected  one  end  of 
the  car  and  its  contents  ran  out  and  dumped  itself  in  the 
hold  of  the  ship.  In  about  three  hours  it  was  all  over, 
and  we  had  to  haul  away  at  once  to  make  room  for  other 
vessels  which  were  waiting  to  take  their  turn. 

We  moved  to  the  dock  gate  again,  and  at  high  tide  in  the 
evening  the  tugboat  took  hold  of  us  and  towed  us  out  into 
the  river,  where  we  anchored. 

During  the  day  Swanson  had  purchased  the  things  I 
wanted,  which  made  Jack  extremely  happy.  He  looked 
altogether  another  boy  from  what  he  was  at  first.  Mrs. 
Duncan  was  as  good  as  her  word.  She  sent  him  some 
very  good  underwear,  so  that,  with  the  clothes  the  captain 
gave  him,  and  what  he  received  from  the  mate,  he  was  as 
well  off  as  anybody  on  the  Forsette. 

The  captain  had  promised  to  take  Jack  along  for  the 
trip  to  Norway  and  Russia  and  back  to  some  port  in  Eng- 
land. He  did  not  know  which  port  it  would  be,  but  it 
made  no  difference  to  Jack;  he  was  as  much  at  home  in 
one  place  as  another. 

I  knew  if  Jack  would  make  good  with  the  mate  he  would 
be  all  right,  as  he  had  a  tender  heart  for  boys.  He  had 
been  a  boy  himself,  and  from  what  he  told  me,  he  must 
have  received  a  great  deal  of  ill  usage.  Strange  to  say,  it 
had  the  effect  of  making  him  very  considerate  of  boys. 
Hardship  and  abuse  of  that  sort  more  often  harden  a  per- 
son ;  but  then,  Swanson  was  no  ordinary  p'erson,  as  I  found 
out  in  time. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  after  early  coffee  all 
hands  turned  to.  Some  were  busy  rigging  out  the  jib- 
boom,  and  others  sending  up  the  royal  yards.  The  first 


YANKEE    SWANSON  65 

job  I  got  when  we  came  on  deck  was  to  reave  off  the  two 
gantlines  on  fore  and  main  to  send  the  royal  yards  aloft. 
The  second  mate  had  charge  of  sending  the  yards  aloft, 
while  Swanson  and  half  of  the  men  busied  themselves  with 
the  jib-boom.  It  was  a  race  to  see  who  would  get  through 
first.  Everybody  seemed  to  take  an  interest  in  the  work, 
and  things  went  along  smoothly.  We  were  all  through 
with  these  two  jobs  by  breakfast  time. 

After  breakfast  the  sails  were  taken  out  of  the  locker. 
They  were  all  tagged  with  leather  tags  and  were  sent  aloft 
with  the  same  gantlines  that  I  rove  off  for  the  royal  yards. 
Afterwards  all  hands  went  aloft  to  bend  the  sails,  one 
watch  each  on  foretop  and  main.  The  sails  were  furled 
as  fast  as  we  bent  them.  When  that  was  done  the  ropes 
were  coiled  down  snug,  decks  swept  clean,  and  the  pumps 
manned.  This  ended  the  day's  work,  and  then  came  the 
chief  event  of  the  day,  "  slicing  the  main  brace."  Every- 
body took  their  "  nip,"  except  Jack  and  me.  The  cook 
was  sure  to  be  around  when  anything  of  this  sort  was 
going  on.  The  captain  was  pleased  with  the  manner  in 
which  the  calking  had  been  done.  The  vessel  hardly 
leaked,  although  loaded  down  to  her  water  mark. 

I  noticed  that  the  captain  and  the  mate  were  on  better 
terms  than  on  the  voyage  out.  Evidently  they  had 
patched  matters  up.  I  was  glad  of  it,  as  they  were  both 
good  men.  Everything  on  board  a  ship,  as  to  her  being 
good  or  bad,  depends  on  these  two  men.  Nothing  is 
more  disagreeable  to  the  mate,  as  well  as  the  watch,  to  have 
the  captain  come  on  deck  in  the  morning,  before  he  has 
had  coffee,  and  start  in  to  find  fault  with  everything  he 
sees.  As  a  rule,  the  mate,  if  he  happens  to  be  a  fellow 
who  scares  easily,  will  try  to  make  things  agreeable  by 
being  disagreeable  with  the  men.  The  "  handy  Billy  " 
will  be  brought  into  use  at  once.  The  yards  will  want  to 
be  braced  up  a  little  more  or  else  checked  in  a  little.  A 


66  YANKEE    SWANSON 

gasket  might  happen  to  be  adrift,  chafing  a  sail  some- 
where, which  is  something  awful.  I  pity  the  poor  boy 
who  left  it  in  that  shape,  at  least  in  an  American  ship. 
He  is  lucky  if  he  gets  off  without  having  his  ears  boxed. 
Luckily  for  us  on  the  Forsette  we  had  a  mate  who  wouldn't 
stand  for  anything  like  that.  On  the  other  hand,  I  think 
there  was  hardly  anything  that  any  reasonable  man  could 
find  fault  with  when  he  was  on  deck.  Nothing  escaped 
his  notice;  at  the  same  time,  he  was  not  a  man  to  keep  a 
fellow  working  all  the  time,  just  to  have  you  doing  some- 
thing. 

When  Swanson  came  on  deck,  night  or  day,  and  re- 
lieved the  watch,  he  would  take  a  walk  about  the  ship, 
every  now  and  then  casting  an  eye  aloft,  and  when  he  had 
gone  his  rounds  he  knew  pretty  well  what  was  wanted. 
He  wouldn't  do  what  I  have  seen  the  second  mate  do  many 
times,  viz.,  break  the  stops  on  the  buntlines  to  make  work 
for  some  of  the  boys.  Swanson  caught  him  at  it  once, 
and  called  him  down  for  it.  No  one  liked  the  second 
mate.  He  was  not  a  bad  man,  but  somewhat  of  a  hypo- 
crite. He  had  a  habit  of  saying,  "  Thank  the  Lord  I  am 
not  like  that."  He  was  very  quick  to  see  the  faults  of 
other  people;  as  for  himself,  he  was  a  saint,  in  his  own 
estimation. 

I  was  made  happy  when  informed  by  Swanson  that  I 
was  on  his  watch.  Axel  was  on  the  second  mate's.  The 
new  man,  Swanson  also  took.  I  think  he  thought  he  was 
a  hard  case  and  needed  trimming  a  bit.  He  always  liked 
to  do  that  himself,  although  the  second  mate  was  a  handy 
man  with  his  fists.  Jack  was  to  stand  no  watch,  his  duty 
being  to  keep  the  cabin  clean  and  to  assist  Munchausen 
when  he  couldn't  find  anything  to  do,  which  was  prac- 
tically what  I  had  to  do  on  the  voyage  out. 

It  was  Monday  morning,  early  in  June,  that  the  tugboat 
came  alongside  and  passed  the  hawser  on  board.  The 


YANKEE    SWANSON  67 

captain  was  on  board  the  tug,  having  been  in  town  clearing 
the  ship  for  a  place  in  Norway  called  Bodo.  As  soon  as 
he  came  on  deck  he  gave  orders  to  heave  up  anchor.  All 
hands  and  the  cook,  even  Jack,  lent  a  hand.  It  came  in 
easy  enough,  but  the  cook  was  feeling  a  little  gay,  so 
started  the  old  chantey,  "  We  are  bound  for  the  Rio 
Grande."  All  hands  joined  in  the  chorus.  After  a  while 
he  switched  to  the  "  Banks  of  Sacramento."  We  got  the 
anchor  up  all  right  and  catted  it.  The  wind  being  fair 
down  the  Firth,  we  set  the  fore  and  main  lower  topsails 
to  help  along  the  tug,  the  current  being  strong  and  against 
us. 

I  do  not  remember  how  long  it  took  the  tug  to  take  us 
out  to  where  we  let  go  the  hawser,  but  I  do  remember  that 
it  was  a  most  beautiful  day,  and  it  gave  me  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity to  see  what  I  had  missed  going  up,  owing  to  its 
being  night  time,  and  the  incessant  conversation  of  the 
cook. 

After  the  anchor  was  catted  and  the  lower  topsails 
sheeted  home,  we  did  nothing  more  until  well  out  in  the 
entrance  of  the  Firth,  except  to  steer  the  vessel,  and  the 
carpenter  always  had  that  job,  going  in  or  out  of  port. 

There  was  considerable  wind  outside,  and  it  was  in  the 
right  direction.  We  had  nearly  everything  set  when  the 
tug  blew  its  whistle  as  a  signal  to  let  the  hawser  go.  Dip- 
ping our  ensign  to  the  tug,  the  skipper  shouted  a  pleasant 
voyage,  and  off  we  were  to  Norway  at  a  pretty  good  clip. 
The  hands  were  called  aft  to  splice  the  main  brace,  and 
the  watches  set,  Swanson  taking  the  first  watch. 

I  was  ordered  to  take  the  wheel,  relieving  the  carpenter, 
who  went  forward  with  the  other  men  to  get  their  dinner. 
After  a  while  I  was  relieved  by  one  of  the  men  to  get  my 
dinner,  and  as  I  went  forward  the  captain  called  me  back 
and  gave  me  a  letter.  When  he  handed  it  to  me  he  winked 
his  eye  and  said  something  about  sweethearts.  The  cook 


68  YANKEE    SWANSON 

came  out  of  the  cabin  at  the  time,  and  seeing  me  with  a 
letter  an  idea  struck  him  that  he  could  be  of  some  use  to 
me  in  translating  it,  suspecting  it  was  in  English.  I  had 
no  idea  of  permitting  him  to  have  anything  to  do  with  my 
correspondence,  love  or  otherwise.  I  declined  his  offer, 
but  went  to  the  carpenter's  place,  where  there  was  no  one. 
When  I  opened  the  letter  I  was  curious  to  see  the  signa- 
ture. It  was  Betsey  Duncan's  all  right.  I  put  the  letter 
back  in  my  pocket,  and  went  to  the  fo'c'sle  to  have  my  pea 
soup  and  chunk  of  salt  beef.  Having  finished  dinner  I 
went  back  to  relieve  the  man  at  the  wheel.  The  mate  was 
walking  the  poop  deck  with  a  smile  on  his  face  —  a  sure 
sign  that  everything  was  O.  K. 

In  any  well  regulated  ship  it  is  strictly  forbidden  to 
speak  to  the  man  at  the  wheel,  except  the  officer  of  the 
deck  in  giving  an  order.  Swanson  impressed  this  on  my 
mind  on  many  occasions.  In  this  case  it  was  somewhat 
different.  I  was  only  a  boy  and  he  considered  himself 
as  my  father,  at  least  he  treated  me  as  such.  After  a 
while  he  said,  "  Well,  Betsey  did  not  come  down,  to  see 
us  off  after  all." 

"  She  wrote,  though,"  I  answered. 

"When?     To-day?" 

"  I  believe  so.     The  captain  just  gave  me  a  letter." 

"  What  did  she  say  ?" 

"  I  can't  read  it  myself,  as  you  know.  I  therefore 
brought  it  along  so  you  can  see  for  yourself  — " 

"  That  would  not  be  fair  to  Betsey,"  said  Swanson,  in 
his  most  teasing  manner.  "  Suppose  it  was  a  love  letter. 
I  would  be  no  hand  at  explaining  it  to  you  if  it  is.  I 
could  not  tell  a  good  love  letter  from  a  bad  one.  It  was 
always  my  luck  to  make  a  mess  of  things  when  love  was 
on  the  board.  Let  the  cook  tackle  it.  He  is  an  expert. 
He  will  be  able  to  unravel  it  thoroughly  and  explain  the 
fine  points  from  the  weak  ones." 


YANKEE    SWANSON  69 

"  In  that  case,"  I  replied,  "  the  letter  will  go  unread 
until  I  can  find  some  one  that  can  tackle  it.  The  cook 
got  me  into  much  trouble  once  by  my  placing  confidence  in 
him." 

The  smile  on  Swanson's  face  developed  into  a  laugh. 
"  Very  well,  Andrew,  don't  blame  me  if  it  is  not  what 
you  would  like  it  to  be.  Under  these  conditions  I  will 
tackle  the  job,  but  would  advise  you  to  try  the  cook 
first" 

As  I  would  not  listen  to  anything  about  the  cook,  Swan- 
son  took  the  letter  and  started  to  read  it.  I  was  watch- 
ing his  face,  which  wore  a  mingled  expression,  more  of 
fun  than  anything  else.  When  he  had  finished  he  said, 
"Well,  it  sounds  all  right.  There  may  be  some  fine 
points  in  it  that  I  don't  understand.  I  told  you  that  I 
was  a  poor  hand  at  it.  This  is  about  what  she  says. 
She  wishes  you  a  very  happy  voyage  and  a  safe  return  to 
Grangemouth.  She  wants  you  to  remain  her  good  friend 
and  to  think  of  her  once  in  a  while.  She  feels  certain 
that  you  will  meet  again,  and  sends  her  regards  to  the 
mate  and  the  captain,  and  warns  you  to  steer  clear  of  the 
cook,  as  he  is  a  very  bad  man,  because  he  tried  to  make 
trouble  between  you  two,  and  by  doing  so  he  made  trouble 
for  himself.  Then  she  winds  up  by  saying,  '  Good-bye, 
Your  True  Friend.  I  have  nothing  to  send  you.  You 
never  asked  me  for  anything/  What  can  she  mean  by 
that,"  said  Swanson.  "  There  you  are.  That  is  some- 
thing the  cook  could  see  through  in  a  minute.  We  will 
let  it  go  at  that,  and  between  you  and  me  we  will  answer 
that  letter  in  Norway." 

I  asked  Swanson  to  keep  the  letter  for  me,  being  afraid 
that  the  cook  or  some  evil-minded  person  might  get  hold 
of  it.  It  is  worth  keeping,  I  thought,  as  bye  and  bye  I 
would  be  able  to  read  it  myself  without  an  interpreter. 


70  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Nothing  more  was  said  about  the  letter.  I  had  my  doubts 
about  Swanson,  though,  as  I  had  seen  enough  of  him  in 
Grangemouth  to  know  that  he  could  be  as  mischievous  as 
anybody ;  and  as  for  Betsey  saying  that  I  had  never  asked 
for  anything,  and  therefore  she  could  not  send  me  any- 
thing, I  attributed  to  Swanson' s  fertile  imagination. 

We  had  a  most  beautiful  trip  across  the  North  Sea  to 
Bodo.  It  was  daylight  twenty  hours  out  of  the  twenty- 
four,  and  as  we  proceeded  towards  the  Arctic  Circle  it  be- 
came daylight  altogether. 

The  distance  from  Grangemouth  to  Bodo  is  about  one 
thousand  miles,  which  we  covered  in  a  week.  This  is 
not  bad  for  a  vessel  of  the  Forsette  type.  The  royals 
were  never  furled  during  the  entire  trip.  The  wind  was 
westerly,  sometimes  veering  to  SW,  light  to  moderate 
breezes,  with  a  smooth  sea.  I  enjoyed  every  watch  of  the 
trip,  and  hated  to  turn  in  when  my  watch  was  up,  because 
of  the  beautiful  weather.  Mr.  Swanson  took  great  pains 
with  Jack  and  me,  as  he  was  anxious  to  make  good  sailors 
out  of  us.  Nothing  important  was  ever  done  without  him 
telling  us  the  why  and  wherefore,  showing  us  how  to  splice 
rope  and  to  make  numerous  knots,  some  of  which  were 
very  fancy.  When  handling  the  ship  under  sails  on  that 
voyage,  he  never  squared  or  braced  a  yard  without  telling 
us  why  he  did  so  and  what  effect  it  would  have  on  the 
vessel. 

Swanson  became  very  much  attached  to  my  friend  Jack. 
It  was  a  stand  off  whom  he  liked  best.  Jack  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  me  in  this  respect,  that  he  spoke  English. 
Swanson  considered  that  language  his,  I  think.  At  any 
rate,  he  could  use  it  better  than  his  mother  tongue,  having 
left  home  at  an  early  age.  Besides,  Jack  was  a  song  and 
dance  artist  of  no  mean  order,  and,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  Swanson  was  fairly  good  at  that  himself.  It  was 


YANKEE    SWANSON  71 

not  strange,  therefore,  that  he  should  like  the  boy,  par- 
ticularly as  he  was  so  down-trodden  by  misfortune  which 
was  not  of  his  own  making. 

Jack  was  not  standing  any  watch,  so  had  the  evenings 
to  himself,  and  often  when  Swanson  and  the  skipper  were 
in  good  humour  they  would  send  for  the  boy  to  bring  up 
his  tin  whistle  and  the  harmonica.  The  boy  was  happy 
to  be  able  to  accommodate  them,  and  he  would  play  some- 
times for  hours,  and  for  a  change  he  used  to  do  a  little 
stunt  in  dancing,  which  delighted  us  all.  Sometimes  the 
captain  insisted  that  Swanson  dance  a  jig  or  hornpipe, 
which  he  did,  but  his  dancing  did  not  compare  with  Jack's 
for  gracefulness. 

Miss  Betsey's  books  I  made  good  use  of  on  the  watches 
below.  I  soon  found  out  that  the  easiest  way  to  learn 
was  by  listening  attentively  to  Swanson  talking  to  the  boy 
or  to  Captain  Bengston,  who  also  spoke  English  well, 
although  he  made  use  of  the  east  coast  brogue,  which  is  not 
considered  good  English. 

Sometimes  after  being  relieved  at  the  wheel,  the  mate 
would  keep  me  on  the  poop  with  him  for  an  hour  or  so, 
when  he  would  talk  to  me  in  English.  He  had  great  pa- 
tience to  explain  everything  I  asked  about.  I  often  won- 
dered how  he  could  bear  to  be  asked  so  many  questions, 
and  on  one  occasion  I  expressed  myself  to  that  effect. 
His  answer  was  that  it  did  not  matter  so  long  as  I  did 
not  ask  the  same  question  twice.  He  told  me  I  had  a 
good  memory,  and  was  quick  to  pick  things  up,  but  he 
would  box  my  ears  if  he  had  to  repeat  to-night  what  he 
had  told  me  last  night.  At  times  I  would  speak  to  the 
cook  in  English,  but  I  could  not  learn  much  from  him.  I 
always  had  to  go  into  explanations  as  to  who  had  taught 
me,  and  invariably  he  would  criticise  the  mate  and  the 
English  he  spoke  as  being  incorrect.  "  The  Americans 
do  not  speak  English,"  he  would  say.  "  It  is  a  mixture 


72  YANKEE    SWANSON 

between  Indian  and  French ;  some  English,  of  course,  too, 
when  spoken  the  way  Swanson  speaks  it.  It  reminds  me 
of  a  Patagonian  more  than  anything  I  know  of.  The 
English  I  speak  is  the  pure  stuff,  and  no  mistake.  I  am 
sorry  you  waste  so  much  valuable  time  in  learning  that 
stuff.  It  will  never  do  you  any  good  unless  you  should 
be  crazy  enough  to  take  Swanson's  advice  and  sail  in 
Yankee  ships.  If  you  do,  you  will  never  be  a  sailor.  All 
that  they  want  in  these  ships  is  a  fellow  that  is  handy 
knocking  out  some  poor  fellow  like  Gustave,  that  he  made 
a  mess  of  in  Grangemouth.  He  ought  to  be  thankful  that 
I  was  there  to  patch  that  fellow  up  or  he  would  have  bled 
to  death.  Where,  then,  would  he  have  been  ?  In  jail,  of 
course,  where  he  ought  to  be.  I  was  that  mad  that  I 
could  hardly  keep  myself  from  going  out  and  giving  him 
a  piece  of  his  own  medicine.  Old  as  I  am  I  ain't  afraid 
of  the  likes  of  him.  Any  time  he  wants  anything  in  the 
shape  of  Jem  Mace,  The  Game  Chicken,  or  any  other 
first  class  duck,  I  will  be  there  with  the  goods." 

He  then  asked  me  if  Swanson  ever  said  anything  about 
him,  and  I  told  him  that  Swanson  always  spoke  in  the 
very  highest  terms  of  him,  especially  of  his  cooking. 
"  Well,  as  far  as  the  cooking  goes,  he  has  no  kick  coming. 
fie  was  never  fed  better  in  his  life  than  he  is  here.  Just 
fancy  plum  duff  twice  a  week.  Where  did  he  ever  get 
that  ?  ISTot  in  his  fancy  Yankee  packets.  I  sailed  in  some 
of  them  and  know  all  about  them,  but  I  never  liked  them. 
There  is  too  much  knockout  business  for  me  —  no  friend- 
ship whatsoever  among  them.  If  you  should  happen  to 
be  so  unlucky  as  to  borrow  a  dollar  or  two  from  one  of 
them  fellows  he  would  never  stop  talking  until  it  was  paid 
back,  and  with  big  interest  at  that,  mind  you.  I  don't 
like  that.  If  I  borrow  a  little  from  a  shipmate,  I  expect 
him  to  keep  mum  until  such  time  as  I  am  willing  or 
able  to  pay  back.  Then  if  he  is  a  true  friend  he  will  say 


YANKEE    SWANSON  IS 

1  Never  mind,  pal,  have  a  drink  with  me,  and  we  will  call 
it  square.' ' 

I  believe  that  the  old  fellow  could  have  kept  up  that 
talk  for  hours  if  I  would  have  listened  to  him.  It  was 
all  right  for  a  change,  knowing  as  I  did  that  he  could  not 
help  it.  When  I  made  a  move  to  leave  he  would  always 
say,  "  Now  keep  this  to  yourself.  I  would  not  talk  like 
that  to  any  one  else." 

I  told  him  I  could  well  helieve  that,  also  his  reasons 
for  doing  so. 

"  Of  course  you  do,"  said  the  cook.  "  You  are  dif- 
ferent from  that  fool  Axel.  I  am  disgusted  with  him.  I 
taught  him  quite  a  lot  at  the  cook-house  in  Grangemouth, 
but  he  never  as  much  as  gave  me  the  price  of  a  glass  of 
ale.  Now  what  do  you  think  of  that?  Ain't  that  the 
limit?" 

"  Pretty  tough,"  I  said.  "  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  he 
could  be  so  ungrateful." 

"  It  is  a  fact  just  the  same.  I  even  went  so  far  as  to 
tell  him  of  the  little  borrow  you  obliged  me  with,  thinking 
it  would  limber  him  up  a  bit.  It  was  no  use.  The  fel- 
low had  no  sense.  I  think  Swanson  was  right  for  once, 
in  Axel's  case." 

I  told  him  I  was  sorry  that  he  mentioned  the  matter  to 
anybody,  more  particularly  to  Axel,  as  he  would  tell  it 
all  over  the  ship.  "  Don't  worry  about  that,"  the  cook 
said,  "  you  can  tell  him  that  you  did  it  because  I  gave  you 
a  pointer  or  two.  That  will  make  him  feel  small,  and 
perhaps  he  will  get  next  himself  to  do  better  in  the  future 
by  his  betters." 

I  thought  the  chances  of  anything  of  that  sort  occurring 
with  Axel  were  very  slim  indeed,  in  which  the  cook  con- 
curred. 


VII 

SUNDAY  morning  we  made  the  coast  of  ISTorway,  and 
by  noon  we  were  within  five  or  six  miles  of  land, 
rocky,  forbidding-looking  islands  and  headlands.  We 
were  going  along  at  a  fairly  good  speed,  with  everything 
set  that  would  draw,  the  wind  being  dead  aft.  Towards 
evening  we  had  land  ahead  and  on  the  port  bow.  We 
were  now  several  degrees  north  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  and 
as  there  is  very  little  difference  between  night  and  day  in 
that  locality  during  the  summer  months,  we  kept  on  our 
course,  although  it  seemed  a  very  intricate  piece  of  navi- 
gation. We  almost  rubbed  up  against  one  or  two  islands. 
The  water  is  several  hundred  fathoms  deep  close  up  to 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  rocks.  For  that  reason  there  is 
no  danger,  unless  you  run  on  to  them. 

The  scenery  is  grand ;  but  it  is  also  the  most  forbidding 
scenery  in  the  world  that  I  have  ever  seen,  except,  perhaps, 
Tierra  del  Fuego,  which  is  the  counterpart.  It  gave  me 
the  shivers  when  I  saw  those  great  high  mountains,  sev- 
eral thousand  feet  high,  and  in  some  places  with  over- 
hanging cliffs.  !N~ot  a  blade  of  grass,  or  anything 
else  that  grows,  is  to  be  seen  on  these  islands.  In  some 
places  there  were  immense  waterfalls,  caused  by  the  snow 
melting  on  the  mountain  tops  and  the  water  falling 
straight  down  into  the  sea  without  touching  anything. 

The  following  morning  the  wind  fell  lightly  and  we 
hardly  moved  through  the  water.  It  was  as  smooth  as 
glass.  We  were  within  hailing  distance  of  a  small  island, 
on  which  there  was  a  boat-landing  and  also  a  few  stone 

huts.     A  boat  with  a  man  and  a  boy  in  it  put  off  towards 

74 


YANKEE    SWANSON  75 

us.  We  backed  our  mainyards  and  the  boat  came  along- 
side. When  the  man  came  on  board  he  enquired  where 
we  were  bound.  Upon  being  told  he  asked  the  captain  to 
give  him  a  chance  to  pilot  the  vessel.  The  fee  he  asked 
was  very  moderate,  I  think,  because  there  was  no  haggling 
about  it.  The  boy  took  the  boat  back  to  the  landing,  and 
the  pilot  then  assumed  charge  of  the  Forsette. 

The  wind  had  fallen  dead  calm,  and  the  captain  en- 
quired anxiously  if  there  was  any  anchorage  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  pilot  told  him  "  No,"  but  he  said,  "  there 
is  no  danger  at  all.  What  little  current  we  have  will 
keep  the  vessel  in  the  centre  of  the  fjord  (inlet)," — and 
what  he  said  turned  out  to  be  so.  I  have  seen  the  same 
thing  on  other  inland  waters ;  Puget  Sound,  for  instance, 
where  the  anchorages  are  very  scarce  also.  I  remember 
on  one  occasion,  when  out  fishing  with  a  friend  in  a  small 
boat  on  Puget  Sound,  about  three  miles  from  Tacoma. 
Just  at  the  time  we  had  caught  all  the  fish  we  wanted  a 
dense  fog  came  down.  We  had  no  compass  in  the  boat, 
so  were  practically  lost,  as  far  as  knowing  the  direction 
we  should  proceed.  We  therefore  took  in  the  oars  and 
lit  our  pipes,  waiting  for  the  fog  to  lift.  Towards  even- 
ing we  heard  the  puffing  of  a  steam  launch.  She  was  quite 
near  us  and  I  hailed  her,  asking  how  far  it  was  to  Tacoma. 
The  fellow  in  the  launch  was  evidently  annoyed  at  being 
asked  such  a  question.  At  any  rate  he  was  very  sassy 
and  shouted  through  the  fog,  "  Go  to  H — 1,  what  do  you 
take  me  for?  You  are  in  Tacoma  now,  you  fresh  guy." 

All  that  night  the  Forsette  drifted  with  the  current,  and 
it  happened  to  be  favourable,  so  we  made  good  progress. 
Sometimes  we  were  very  close  to  islands,  but  never  touched 
any.  All  hands  were  on  deck  within  call,  as  the  pilot 
expected  "  catspaws  "  to  come  along,  and  that  would  re- 
quire trimming  yards  and  sails.  The  cook  had  gone  to 
his  bunk,  so  Jack  and  I  made  ourselves  useful  in  the 


76  YANKEE    SWANSON 

galley  by  keeping  the  coffee  hot  and  frying  fresh  herrings, 
which  could  be  caught  by  the  simple  process  of  dipping  a 
bucket  overboard  with  a  rope  attached.  A  big  school  of 
whales  was  very  busy  all  around  us  that  night,  feeding  on 
herring.  They  were  having  a  jolly  time.  One  big  fel- 
low came  so  close  to  the  ship  that  when  he  "  blowed  "  he 
almost  smothered  Axel  with  water  as  he  was  standing  on 
the  fo'cs'le  head,  keeping  a  lookout.  This  gave  Axel  an 
unpleasant  odour,  and  when  he  went  aft  to  relieve  the 
wheel  the  pilot  objected,  saying  that  the  odour  interfered 
with  the  navigation  of  the  ship.  Swanson  made  him 
change  his  clothes,  and  accused  him  of  being  asleep  on  the 
lookout,  otherwise  he  could  have  side-stepped  the  whale's 
breath.  I  thought  that  Swanson  was  unreasonable  with 
Axel,  but  then  no  one  liked  him,  and  even  the  cook  said 
he  was  not  worth  his  salt. 

One  day  Axel  started  to  make  things  unpleasant  for 
Jack,  while  on  watch  below,  and  Swanson  overheard  him. 
Axel  was  put  to  clean  out  the  pigpen,  with  orders  to  re- 
port when  it  was  done.  When  he  did  report,  Swanson 
took  a  look  at  it  and  said  it  was  not  properly  done,  and 
ordered  him  to  get  some  sand  and  canvas  and  scrub  away 
at  it  until  all  the  odour  had  disappeared  from  the  pigsty. 
The  poor  fellow  was  almost  broken-hearted  when  Swanson 
told  him  that  it  would  not  pass  inspection.  It  was  a 
good  lesson  to  him  to  be  more  careful  in  the  future. 
Every  now  and  then  when  Swanson  was  not  around  hia 
nastiness  would  crop  out,  as  he  had  a  bad  disposition. 

During  the  morning  a  gentle  breeze  sprang  up,  thus 
helping  us  to  make  several  tacks  across  the  inlet,  and 
weathering  a  little  island  where  the  course  was  altered 
several  points.  By  noon  we  sighted  Bodo  and  came  to 
anchor  during  the  afternoon.  We  were  all  more  or  less 
fagged  out  that  evening  after  the  sails  were  furled  and 
the  decks  cleared  up.  We  had  had  very  little  sleep  during 


YANKEE    SWANSON  77 

the  last  twenty-four  hours.  The  captain  was  expecting 
the  port  authorities  to  come  off  that  evening  to  receive  us, 
but  they  did  not.  I  suppose  it  was  after  hours  with  them. 
Government  people  are  the  same  all  the  world  over;  sun- 
rise to  sunset  constitutes  a  day's  work  for  the  port  doctor 
in  most  parts  of  the  world,  but  would  not  be  the  proper 
thing  in  Bodo,  because  the  sun  does  not  set  there  for 
weeks.  On  the  other  hand,  their  nights  are  equally  long 
during  the  winter. 

Bodo  looked  beautiful  from  the  ship.  It  is  situated  on 
a  flat  piece  of  land  surrounded  by  high  mountains.  It  is 
really  on  an  island,  but  looks  to  a  stranger  as  if  it  were 
part  of  the  mainland. 

The  islands  and  the  mainland  about  Bodo  are  not  by 
any  means  barren  and  desolate  looking  like  the  other  out- 
side islands  I  have  described.  As  a  rule  the  stranger  is 
agreeably  surprised  when  visiting  this  part  of  the  world 
for  the  first  time.  I  was  so  myself,  although  I  had  not 
seen  anything  to  speak  of,  except  my  home  and  Grange- 
mouth.  I  had  expected  to  find  little  stone  huts  without 
windows,  and  a  hole  near  the  ground  to  crawl  through  for 
a  door,  such  as  I  had  read  about  among  the  Hottentots 
or  the  Patagonians.  Therefore,  as  Jack  and  I  were  sit- 
ting on  the  railing  that  evening,  admiring  the  beautiful 
view  that  surrounded  us,  I  could  not  but  feel  that  this 
little  place  Bodo,  although  so  far  north  and  within  the 
Arctic  Circle,  had  a  charm  of  its  own  that  would  continue 
to  grow  on  a  person  after  getting  better  acquainted  with 
the  people  and  their  mode  of  living. 

The  inhabitants  of  northern  Norway  have  one  advan- 
tage that  no  other  people  possess  in  the  whole  world  within 
the  same  latitude,  and  that  is,  their  harbours  are  ice  free, 
winter  and  summer.  The  cause  of  this  is  the  Gulf 
Stream.  This  great  ocean  river,  after  crossing  the  At- 
lantic, sweeps  the  northern  coast  of  ISTorway  in  its  course 


78  YANKEE    SWANSON 

to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  where  it  finally  disappears.  This 
causes  the  climate  on  the  coast  to  be  mild,  comparatively 
so  to  other  places  situated  in  a  more  southern  latitude. 
As  an  illustration,  take  Labrador. 

The  Gulf  Stream  is  certainly  a  great  advantage  when 
we  take  into  consideration  that  the  country  is  so  rugged 
that  no  roads  worthy  of  a  name  could  be  constructed  ex- 
cept at  an  enormous  expense.  Therefore  all  transporta- 
tion goes  by  water.  Another  advantage  is  the  large 
amount  of  fish  that  abound  in  these  waters.  No  one  can 
have  any  idea  how  plentiful  they  are  until  they  see  for 
themselves.  If  a  person  has  sufficient  money  to  buy  a 
fish  hook  and  a  piece  of  string,  starvation  is  out  of  the 
question  in  Bodo.  There  were  a  number  of  small  boats 
rowing  about  in  the  harbour  with  young  people  in  them, 
out  for  an  airing.  Some  of  these  had  musical  instru- 
ments and  entertained  us  with  a  few  songs.  Jack  had 
thought  of  taking  his  instruments  and  playing  a  few 
tunes,  but  many  of  the  men  had  gone  to  bed,  being  tired 
out,  so  we  went  to  bed,  too. 

The  following  morning  the  port  doctor  came  on  board 
and  gave  us  pratique,  after  which  the  skipper  went  on 
shore  to  see  the  consignee.  Axel  and  I  went  as  boatmen. 
When  we  landed  at  the  little  wharf  the  captain  told  us 
not  to  leave  the  boat,  as  he  would  soon  be  back.  The 
pilot,  who  had  gone  ashore  with  the  skipper,  came  back 
alone  after  a  while.  He  told  us  that  the  captain  had 
received  orders  to  take  the  Forsette  to  a  place  twenty 
miles  further  up  the  inlet,  called  Grotto,  where  the  coal 
would  have  to  be  discharged.  He  also  stated  that  the 
captain  would  not  be  back  for  some  time,  and  that  we 
would  have  plenty  of  time  to  take  a  run  on  shore  to  see 
the  place.  Axel  thought  it  was  a  capital  idea,  and  sug- 
gested we  go  at  once.  I  declined  to  do  so,  because  I  did 
not  like  his  company,  and  because  the  captain  had  said 


YANKEE    SWANSON  79 

we  were  not  to  leave  the  boat.  The  pilot  then  said  that 
it  would  be  all  right,  as  he  would  stay  by  the  boat,  and 
handing  me  a  crown  said,  "  Take  something  at  my  ex- 
pense. It  will  do  no  harm."  I  told  him  I  did  not  drink, 
and  would  not  leave  the  boat  without  permission,  as  I 
felt  sure  the  old  man  would  not  like  it.  He  then  gave 
the  crown  to  Axel  and  told  him  to  go  and  enjoy  himself. 

Axel,  nothing  loath,  did  so.  The  pilot  thought  it  was 
time  for  another  drink,  and  asked  me  to  tell  the  captain 
that  he  need  not  wait  for  him,  as  he  would  come  off  in  a 
shore  boat. 

The  first  to  come  back  was  Axel  in  a  very  drunken 
state.     He  was  very  abusive,  calling  me  a  sucker,  and 
telling  some  boys  who  were  fishing  from  the  wharf  that 
he  would  have  killed  me  at  Grangemouth  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  mate  and  the  cook.     ISTot  wishing  to  have 
any    trouble    with    him,    I    remained    silent.     He    was 
stronger  and  bigger  than  I,  and  there  was  no  telling  what 
he  would  do  in  his  drunken  condition.     When  he  saw 
that  I  did  not  care  to  fight,  he  got  much  bolder  and  picked 
up  a  big  cod  that  one  of  the  boys  had  just  taken  off  a 
hook,  and  threw  it  at  me  with  all  his  force.     I  ducked, 
but  in  doing  so,  fell  into  the  water,  narrowly  escaping  the 
boat.     "No  harm  was  done,  as  I  was  a  fairly  good  swim- 
mer.    Scrambling  into  the  boat,   I  wrung  some  of  the 
water  out  of  my  clothes,  while  Axel  and  the  other  boys 
laughed  at  me.     I  thought  the  matter  over  and  decided 
that  my  only  salvation  was  to  go  on  the  wharf  and  fight 
him  to  a  finish.     With  that  idea  I  took  off  my  jumper 
and  went  on  the  wharf.     What  with  my  lessons  from 
Swanson  and  the  few  friendly  bouts  with  Jack,  I  felt 
confident  of  winning.     Axel  was  surprised  to  encounter 
such  a  whirlwind  of  fury  as  I  sailed  into  him.     I  was 
angry  right  through  and  through  and  never  gave  him  a 
minute's  rest.     It  was  hit,  hit,  hit,  as  hard  and  as  fast 


80  YANKEE    SWANSON 

as  I  could,  and  regardless  of  all  rules  of  civilised  war- 
fare. His  face  was  smeared  all  over  with  blood,  and  in 
his  distress  he  started  to  run.  I  followed  him  up,  at- 
tacking him  in  the  rear  with  a  dried  stock  fish  that  I  had 
picked  up  on  the  wharf.  There  is  no  telling  how  this 
fight  would  have  ended  if  it  had  not  been  that  Axel  had 
the  fortune  to  run  into  Captain  Bengston  as  he  came 
down  the  wharf. 

The  old  man  was  speechless  when  he  saw  what  had 
happened.  He  stood  still,  as  though  he  were  rooted  to 
the  ground,  with  Axel  seeking  protection  behind  his  back 
like  a  six-year-old  kid.  It  was  lucky  for  me  that  he  did 
so,  as  it  saved  a  lot  of  explanation.  The  old  man  got  a 
whiff  of  his  breath  and  understood  at  once.  "  You  are 
drunk,"  he  said,  as  he  slapped  Axel's  face  and  sent  him 
down  on  all  fours,  where  he  lay  and  grunted  like  a  hog. 
The  captain  ordered  him  into  the  boat,  but  he  kept  grunt- 
ing until  the  old  man  put  new  life  into  him  by  means  of 
a  swift  kick,  which  had  the  desired  effect.  The  captain 
said  nothing  to  me,  and  I  offered  no  explanation.  He 
asked  the  boys,  who  gave  him  all  the  information  he 
wanted,  and  I  was  glad  to  hear  them  tell  the  truth,  as  it 
seemed  to  me  from  the  manner  in  which  they  enjoyed  the 
fun  that  they  were  all  on  Axel's  side.  The  pilot  came 
along  by  this  time,  and  he  told  the  captain  what  he  knew 
about  the  affair,  the  captain  partly  blaming  him  for  giving 
Axel  the  money. 

Axel  came  back  to  the  ship  as  a  passenger,  the  pilot 
taking  his  place  at  the  oar.  When  we  got  alongside, 
Swanson  was  at  the  ladder  to  receive  us,  and  had  a  sar- 
castic grin  on  his  face  when  he  saw  the  condition  of  Axel. 
The  captain  started  to  explain  matters  to  the  mate,  but 
stopped  short  when  Swanson  said  he  had  witnessed  the 
whole  affair  from  the  ship  with  his  glasses. 

After  the  boat  was  hoisted  on  board  Axel  made  a  move 


YANKEE    SWANSON  81 

to  go  and  fix  up  a  bit,  but  Swanson  put  a  stop  to  that  by 
telling  him  to  clean  up  the  pigsty.  He  went  about  it  in 
a  sort  of  half-hearted  way  until  the  mate  gave  him  to 
understand  that  it  would  be  an  all  day  job  unless  he  got 
a  move  on  him.  Axel  still  remembered  the  sand  and  can- 
vas business  on  the  trip  over,  so  pitched  in  like  a  good 
fellow  and  by  dinner  time  the  mate  let  him  off  by  saying 
that  the  sty  was  clean  enough  for  any  hog. 

The  cook  was  thoroughly  disgusted  with  Axel  and 
would  not  even  offer  him  a  piece  of  sticking  plaster,  which 
was  sadly  needed.  Axel  pleaded  for  a  little  piece,  but 
the  cook's  heart  was  adamantine.  "  I  told  you  at 
Grangemouth  that  it  is  always  good  to  have  a  friend,"  he 
said.  "  That  little  money  matter  I  wanted  you  to  help 
me  out  with  would  never  have  hurt  you  any.  As  for 
sticking  plaster,  it  would  be  foolish  to  waste  any  on  you. 
You  are  better  looking  now  than  you  ever  were  before. 
That  boy  improves  your  looks  every  time  he  polishes  you 
up.  He  is  altogether  different  from  you.  He  helped 
out  a  bit  in  Grangemouth.  It  was  only  a  little,  to  be 
sure,  but  that  is  neither  here  nor  there;  he  did  the  best 
he  could,  and  he  did  not  do  it  for  nothing.  I  gave  him 
a  few  pointers  that  I  fancy  he  is  making  good  use  of. 
Swanson  and  I  watched  the  whole  proceeding  from  the 
poop,  and  we  were  tickled  to  death  at  the  fine  way  the 
little  fellow  struck  out  from  his  shoulder.  I  recognised 
my  fine  little  points  the  very  minute  he  went  after  you. 
If  I  was  you  I  would  take  to  the  rocks  and  give  little 
Frenchy  a  show  to  make  an  honest  dollar  or  two.  Swan- 
son  would  be  only  too  glad  to  get  rid  of  you,  I  am  think- 
ing, after  you  have  had  a  few  more  whacks  at  the  pigsty." 

Poor  Axel!  It  was  pitiful  to  look  at  him;  yet  it  was 
next  to  impossible  to  prevent  laughing  at  the  way  the  old 
rascal  of  a  sea-cook  went  at  him.  It  was  a  welcome 
change  for  him  when  Swanson  sang  out  "  Turn  to."  We 


82  YANKEE    SWANSON 

took  out  a  kedge  anchor  from  the  hold  and  several  coila 
of  rope  (3  inch)  from  the  sail  locker,  as  the  pilot  intended 
to  kedge  the  vessel  well  past  a  little  island,  where  he  ex- 
pected to  get  a  little  wind  to  start  us  on  the  way  to  Grotto. 

When  we  hove  short  on  the  anchor,  Axel  and  I  were 
sent  aloft  to  loosen  sails,  in  order  to  have  them  ready  to 
be  sheeted  home  should  a  catspaw  come  along.  The  sec- 
ond mate  and  two  men  went  in  the  boat  to  carry  out  the 
anchor.  About  three  hundred  fathoms  of  small  line  were 
coiled  up  in  the  after  end  of  the  boat,  and  away  they 
went  with  it  in  the  direction  of  the  island,  and  as  far  as 
the  line  would  reach. 

When  the  kedge  was  down,  we  took  in  the  slack  on  the 
line  and  tripped  our  anchor,  after  which  all  hands  manned 
the  capstan  and  away  we  went  as  fast  as  we  could  run 
around  the  capstan.  After  we  got  a  little  way  on  her  it 
was  easy  work,  because  there  was  no  current  in  the  inlet 
just  then.  We  took  the  line  off  the  capstan,  and  all  hands 
tailed  on  to  the  rope  with  a  will,  brought  on  by  splicing  the 
main  brace  a  couple  of  times,  and  by  the  cook's  lusty 
singing,  "  Blow  the  man  down  in  Grangemouth  town,  hay, 
hay,  blow  the  man  down,"  and  several  other  chanteys. 

Jack  and  I  thought  it  was  great  sport,  and  made  as 
much  noise  as  the  cook.  The  old  pilot  laughed,  and  said 
he  had  never  seen  a  jollier  crowd. 

We  were  abreast  of  the  island  in  a  couple  of  hours, 
and  the  wind  which  the  pilot  had  predicted,  or  rather 
hoped  for,  came  in  a  favourable  direction.  Everything 
that  would  draw  was  sheeted  home  and  set,  so  that  by 
midnight  we  had  the  anchor  down  and  the  sails  furled 
toward  our  destination,  Grotto.  The  mate  detailed  Jack 
to  stand  anchor  watch,  and  all  went  to  their  bunks  pretty 
well  tired  out.  Grotto  was  a  very  small  place  of  perhaps 
a  dozen  houses,  and  was  used  principally  as  a  whaling 
station.  As  the  wharf  was  not  large  enough  to  be  of  any 


YANKEE    SWANSON  88 

use,  we  had  to  discharge  in  lighters,  which  was  a  very 
slow  process,  on  account  of  not  having  a  steam  winch  on 
board. 

The  carpenter  was  set  to  work  to  make  coal  tubs  from 
some  empty  barrels,  while  the  sailors  rigged  the  hoisting 
gear.  The  lighters  were  fairly  good  sized  —  twenty-five 
tons  each.  Swanson  figured  that  if  two  were  loaded  in 
a  day  he  would  call  it  a  good  day's  work,  and  the  whole 
cargo  would  be  discharged  in  six  days. 

At  noon  the  following  day  we  were  ready  to  load  the 
first  lighter.  Swanson  arranged  things  in  this  manner: 
Four  men  in  the  hold  to  fill  the  tubs,  four  men  at  the 
handwinch  for  heaving,  and  the  second  mate,  carpenter, 
and  one  man  —  Axel  —  to  dump  the  tubs  in  the  lighter. 
I  was  detailed  to  the  hold  to  attend  to  the  hook.  Jack's 
position  was  the  easiest  of  all;  he  supplied  the  men  with 
water,  and  at  times  was  called  upon  to  fill  their  pipes,  as 
the  mate  allowed  the  men  to  smoke.  The  cook  had  a 
sort  of  roving  commission  handing  out  the  grog,  which 
is  considered  necessary  in  Swedish  vessels  to  facilitate 
work.  In  American  ships  this  is  considered  detrimental, 
but  in  my  experience  I  have  found  it  very  handy  at 
times,  especially  when  work  had  to  be  rushed. 

We  were  able  to  load  the  two  lighters  daily,  as  per 
Swanson's  estimate,  which  gave  us  plenty  of  time  to  our- 
selves, because  the  mate  let  all  other  work  go.  To  get 
the  cargo  out  was  his  main  idea,  as  the  captain  was 
anxious  to  get  to  Archangel  before  the  White  Sea  be- 
gan to  freeze.  This  it  sometimes  does  at  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember. 

During  the  daytime  and  at  night  we  used  to  take  the 
small  boat  and  go  for  a  trip  on  shore.  Swanson  did  not 
care,  as  long  as  we  were  on  the  spot  when  the  empties 
came  alongside.  There  was  very  little  amusement  for  a 
sailor  on  shore,  but  Jack  and  I  found  means  to  enjoy 


84  YANKEE    SWANSON 

ourselves.  One  day  Jack  and  I  went  ashore,  and  at  the 
station  a  young  man  told  us  that  he  expected  a  tribe  of 
Laplanders  with  a  herd  of  reindeer  to  camp  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood that  night.  The  Lap  scouts  had  been  into  the 
station  during  the  day  and  notified  them  to  that  effect. 
It  was  considered  quite  an  event  when  these  people  ar- 
rived, which  they  did  once  a  year.  They  generally  had 
a  quantity  of  dried  reindeer  meat  to  dispose  of,  and  many 
other  things,  which  they  exchanged  for  their  winter's  sup- 
ply of  coffee,  tea,  and  sugar.  Their  presence  made 
things  lively  in  Grotto,  as  the  supply  boats  came  there 
from  Bodo  and  other  near-by  towns  to  do  business  with 
them. 

Another  piece  of  news  that  the  young  man  gave  us 
was,  that  an  English  nobleman's  yacht  would  be  in  Grotto 
in  a  day  or  two  to  take  on  coal  at  the  station,  and  he 
hinted  that  the  yacht  would  likely  come  alongside  the 
Forsette  to  save  time,  labour,  and  money.  We  were  also 
told  that  the  manager  of  the  whaling  station  had  promised 
the  Englishman  a  whale  hunt  during  his  stay  here, 
thereby  making  his  visit  interesting  as  he  came  there  every 
year.  From  the  high  opinion  they  had  of  the  nobleman, 
it  was  evident  that  he  spent  his  money  freely.  Jack  and 
I  then  took  a  walk  to  a  hill  to  see  if  the  Laps  were  in 
sight,  the  young  man  pointing  out  to  us  in  which  direc- 
tion they  would  come. 

We  did  not  see  any  of  them,  and  as  the  shoremen 
nearly  had  a  lighter  empty  to  take  off  to  the  ship, 
Jack  and  I  got  into  the  boat  and  went  on  board.  We 
gave  them  all  the  news  we  had  received  on  shore,  and 
every  one  hoped  that  the  yacht,  the  Laplanders,  and  the 
whalehunt  would  all  turn  up  to-morrow,  as  there  would 
be  no  work  on  account  of  it  being  Sunday,  thus  giving  us 
a  chance  to  take  in  the  sights. 

The  cook  asked  me  if  the  young  man  had  told  me  how 


YANKEE    SWANSON  85 

many  reindeer  there  were  in  the  herd.  I  did  not  know, 
but  bluffed  him  by  saying  offhand,  seven  thousand. 

"  Is  that  all  ?  It's  hardly  worth  looking  at,"  said  the 
cook. 

"  I  thought  that  was  a  big  herd,"  I  said. 

"  Man  alive !  A  big  one,  huh !  I  saw  a  herd  once  in 
Siberia  that  had  fifty  thousand  head  and  one  thousand 
big  Dane  dogs  to  herd  them." 

"  What  did  they  feed  the  dogs  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Feed  them  ?  Well,  you  would  scarcely  believe  it, 
but  it  is  a  fact,  just  the  same.  They  fed  them  on  snow- 
balls, icicles,  and  tallow  candles.  It  was  a  splendid  diet, 
as  they  were  all  as  fat  as  butter-balls." 

I  intimated  that  it  would  require  an  enormous  amount 
of  candles,  but  he  said  that  was  a  mistake ;  that  one  box 
would  be  sufficient  from  one  end  of  Siberia  to  the  other, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  the  climate  is  so  severe  that 
the  food  takes  a  long  time  to  digest.  "  The  only  draw- 
back," he  said,  "  is  the  time  taken  in  feeding  the  dogs. 
The  Laps  have  plenty  of  time  and  move  by  easy  stages. 
With  the  reindeer  it  is  different;  they  require  a  lot  of 
moss,  which  grows  under  the  snow.  Sawdust  is  a  luxury 
for  the  reindeer.  I  once  saw  a  tribe  of  Laps  that  had 
pitched  their  camp  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  sawmill. 
It  was  in  the  northern  part  of  Sweden.  There  was  an 
immense  pile  of  sawdust  just  outside  of  the  mill,  and 
during  the  night,  when  nobody  was  about,  the  deer  got  a 
scent  of  the  sawdust.  They  tackled  the  whole  lot,  and 
not  being  satisfied  with  that  they  started  in  on  a  pile  of* 
six  by  six  timbers,  and  if  the  watchman  had  not  woke  up 
in  time,  they  would  have  got  away  with  the  mill  also. 
Seven  thousand  ain't  much  to  look  at,  but  I  guess  that 
you  and  Frenchy  will  be  interested,  as  neither  of  you 
have  seen  anything  of  that  sort  before." 

The  lighter  was  now  alongside,  and  the  cook,  feeling 


86  YANKEE    SWANSON 

fine,  as  be  always  did  after  one  of  his  lies,  came  out  and 
gave  the  boys  a  hand  at  the  winch,  at  the  same  time  sing- 
ing the  old  Black  Ball  chantey : 

"Whiskey,  Johnny,  whiskey  is  the  life  of  man; 
Whiskey  for  my  Johnny." 

The  lighter  was  loaded  in  a  very  short  time.  The  men 
in  the  hold  were  down  to  the  skin,  which  made  shovelling 
easy.  It  was  hard  on  the  winchmen,  because  the  fellows 
below  were  constantly  shouting  "  Heave  up."  Swan- 
son  was  over  the  hatch  with  his  pipe  in  his  mouth,  and 
a  satisfied  grin  on  his  face.  Once  in  a  while  he  would 
say  something  to  the  cook  that  made  the  men  laugh,  and 
the  cook  always  had  an  answer  ready  for  him. 

The  following  morning,  before  we  turned  to,  I  ran 
up  the  fore  royal  yard  and  looked  in  the  direction  the 
Laplanders  were  expected  to  come.  The  reindeer  were 
there  all  right,  but  not  seven  thousand  strong.  They  were 
just  then  descending  the  mountain  ridge,  and  still  several 
miles  away  from  Grotto.  They  were  mere  little  specks 
on  the  snow,  and  the  animals  moved  with  irregularity, 
scattering  over  a  large  territory.  The  Laplanders  and 
their  dogs  followed  behind.  Some  of  the  people  were  on 
skis,  and  others  on  native  sleds  drawn  by  reindeer. 

Although  it  was  a  little  past  midsummer,  the  snow  and 
ice  on  the  hills  made  goo'd  travelling.  I  came  down  and 
reported  to  the  mate  what  I  had  seen.  He  seemed  quite 
interested  and  went  up  on  the  main  topsail  yard,  remain- 
ing there  for  some  time. 

Captain  Bengston  went  on  shore  after  breakfast,  and 
on  his  return  told  Swanson  that  the  Laps  had  pitched 
their  camp  on  the  mainland,  about  half  a  mile  from 
Grotto.  There  were  one  thousand  five  hundred  reindeer 
with  one  hundred  persons,  including  kids.  They  also  had 
a  number  of  dogs,  which  looked  like  wolves,  that  kept  up 


YANKEE    SWANSON  87 

a  continuous  performance  of  howling,  which  we  could  hear 
from  the  ship.  Jack  seemed  much  interested  in  the  tribe, 
and  asked  me  if  we  could  row  over  in  the  evening  to  pay 
them  a  visit.  I  advised  him  to  ask  Swanson,  and  if  he 
gave  permission  we  would  go  after  supper.  None  of  the 
sailors  seemed  to  care  about  going,  except  Axel,  but  Swan- 
son  would  not  allow  him  to  go  with  us,  as  he  was  afraid 
of  trouble.  Instead  of  Axel  he  suggested  the  cook,  as  he 
would  make  an  excellent  chaperon.  The  cook  was  not 
unwilling,  provided  we  took  sufficient  money  to  buy  him 
a  drink  or  two.  We  promised  to  do  the  best  we  could 
for  him  in  that  line,  but  I  thought  it  was  doubtful  if  these 
people  had  anything  of  the  kind  that  he  cared  to  drink. 
"  Don't  you  fool  yourself  on  that  score,"  he  said.  "  I 
know  these  fellows,  and  can  talk  some  of  their  lingo.  We 
shall  have  no  trouble  to  get  along  with  them.  I  am  going 
to  take  some  tea  and  make  them  a  present  of  it,  but  don't 
you  tell  the  old  man." 

After  supper  we  set  off  for  the  camp,  Jack  and  I  pull- 
ing, Munchausen  in  the  stern  sheets  handling  the  tiller. 
We  were  all  togged  out  in  our  best,  and  Jack  took  his  tin 
whistle  in  case  there  would  be  some  dancing.  The  cook 
had  advised  him  to  do  so,  as  something  of  that  sort  would 
likely  take  place,  and  if  not,  then  when  the  Englishman's 
yacht  arrived  at  night  he  surely  would  be  able  to  make 
an  honest  dollar  or  two.  If  the  yacht  should  come  along- 
side it  would  give  us  a  chance  to  get  acquainted,  as  it  was 
dollars  to  doughnuts  that  he  knew  the  lord,  and  if  not, 
the  lord  knew  of  him  and  his  cooking. 

"  It  is  not  so  many  years  ago  that  I  was  cooking  on  one 
of  these  craft,"  said  the  cook.  "  I  suppose  that  I  would 
have  been  there  yet  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  little  trouble 
I  had  with  a  widow  duchess,  that  I  think  I  told  you  boys 
about.  It  was  a  foolish  move  on  my  part,  yet  I  was  not 
to  blame.  She  was  clean  gone  on  me,  and  I  don't  know 


88  YANKEE    SWANSON 

as  I  could  blame  her,  as  I  was  as  fine  a  looking  fellow  as 
you  could  wish  to  see.  Her  relations  were  dead  against 
me,  and  jealous  —  my,  oh  my,  I  never  saw  the  likes  of  it. 
It  got  so  bad  that  the  men  folk  on  board  could  not  eat 
for  a  week.  We  were  then  cruising  in  the  Baltic  Sea,  and 
the  weather  was  cold.  Their  appetites  should  have  been 
at  their  best.  They  had  the  nerve  to  blame  it  on  the 
cooking,  thinking  of  course  to  get  even  with  me  in  that 
way.  The  widow  would  not  stand  for  it.  She  was  put- 
ting on  flesh  while  the  lords  and  dukes  were  getting  thin. 
Finally  they  got  desperate,  and  one  morning  doctored  her 
coffee  so  that  she  got  deathly  sick,  and  the  captain  had  to 
put  in  to  Copenhagen  for  medical  attendance.  By  some 
hook  or  crook  they  got  the  doctofcr  to  swear  that  the  widow 
was  poisoned,  and  got  her  to  believe  it,  which  was  real 
cruel  for  the  pair  of  us.  They  left  her  in  the  hospital, 
and  I  never  got  a  chance  to  explain  things  to  her.  How- 
ever, I  fixed  the  lords  and  dukes  on  the  way  back  to 
England,  which  caused  them  to  remember  the  cook,  and 
no  mistake.  They  started  to  praise  the  cooking  after  the 
widow  left.  I  thought  I  would  give  them  some  of  the 
stuff  they  had  given  the  widow.  The  result  was  that 
two  of  them  came  within  an  ace  of  dying  before  we  got 
back.  They  tried  to  make  trouble  for  me  in  London,  but 
gave  it  up  for  a  bad  job  when  I  threatened  to  expose  the 
whole  case.  They  did  not  want  the  widow  dragged  into 
it  again,  they  said.  The  matter  was  ultimately  compro- 
mised by  giving  me  a  year's  salary." 

The  cook  cut  short  his  yarn  when  we  came  close  to  the 
camp.  Some  of  the  Laplanders  came  down  to  the  beach 
to  inspect  us.  When  the  boat  was  hauled  up  on  the  beach, 
they  made  us  welcome  by  shaking  hands  and  inviting  us 
to  their  tents.  They  have  a  language  of  their  own,  but 
most  of  them  speak  Swedish  or  Norse,  which  are  very 
similar.  We  therefore  had  no  trouble  in  making  our- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  89 

selves  understood.  Jack  was  very  much  at  home.  He 
was  wonderfully  quick  at  picking  up  Swedish,  which  he 
spoke  better  than  I  did  English.  We  had  several  little 
spats  over  that,  each  one  accusing  the  other  of  being  selfish, 
Jack  wanting  to  speak  in  Swedish,  and  I  in  English. 

The  cook  made  himself  so  much  at  home  among  the 
Laps  that  it  looked  as  though  he  had  found  a  long  lost 
brother.  He  made  a  bluff  at  speaking  Laplandish,  but 
no  one  seemed  to  understand  what  he  said.  Jack  said  it 
was  strange  that  he  could  not  make  himself  understood, 
but  the  cook  told  him  there  was  nothing  strange  about  it, 
as  the  Laps  talked  so  many  different  dialects,  and  he  only 
spoke  the  best  grade. 

There  was  a  pot  hanging  over  the  fire  in  the  centre  of 
the  tent  which  the  cook  proceeded  to  investigate,  pro- 
nouncing the  contents  dogstew.  He  asked  Mrs.  Lap  if 
we  could  have  a  little  when  it  was  ready,  and  she  said 
she  would  be  pleased  to  give  him  some.  I  was  glad  she 
did  not  include  Jack  and  me  in  the  invitation,  as  I  did 
not  like  the  idea  of  tasting  dogstew,  and  told  the  cook  so. 
He  seemed  surprised  at  that,  and  told  us  we  would  find  it 
a  change  from  salt  horse.  Moreover,  the  stuff  we  were 
getting  on  the  Forsette  might  be  old  cat  for  all  he  knew, 
and  if  it  were  not  for  his  fancy  cooking  we  would  never 
be  able  to  eat  it  at  all.  I  thanked  him  for  the  informa- 
tion, but  inasmuch  as  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  cook- 
ing of  the  dogstew,  we  thought  it  better  not  to  take  any 
of  it.  "  There  is  some  truth  in  that,"  he  said,  "  but  just 
to  be  sociable  I  wish  you  would  try  some."  We  told  him 
that  we  would  see  how  he  got  along  with  it,  and  if  he  did 
not  make  too  wry  a  face,  we  would  try  some  of  it.  The 
boss  Lap  in  the  tent  and  the  cook  were  having  a  long 
confab  about  things  that  did  not  interest  us,  and  we  were 
therefore  anxious  to  get  out  and  try  our  luck  in  some 
other  tent,  expecting  to  find  it  not  quite  so  dull.  But 


90  YANKEE    SWANSON 

the  cook  would  not  hear  of  it,  as  Mrs.  Lap  expected  us  to 
remain  to  supper,  and  it  would  be  bad  manners  to  leave 
her  in  that  way.  When  Mrs.  Lap  took  the  pot  off  the 
fire  the  cook  asked  permission  to  treat  them  to  a  pot  of 
tea.  Producing  his  package,  he  asked  for  a  pot,  which 
she  extracted  from  a  bundle  of  rags,  and  was  appropriated 
by  the  cook.  In  a  short  time  the  tea  was  ready,  and  Mrs. 
Lap  was  busy  dishing  out  the  dogstew  in  little  china 
bowls.  Serving  the  cook  first,  she  passed  one  to  each  of 
us,  then  to  her  husband.  The  children  did  not  come  in 
on  that  deal,  as  they  were  not  allowed  to  come  into  the 
tent  while  there  was  company.  They  opened  the  flap  that 
answered  for  a  door  and  looked  in,  but  that  was  as  far 
as  they  got.  Poor  little  fellows,  they  licked  their  chops 
when  they  got  a  whiff  of  the  stew.  I  asked  the  cook 
why  they  did  not  give  them  any,  and  he  told  me  that  they 
would  have  to  lick  the  bowls  clean  after  we  were  through. 
It  was  the  custom  among  the  Laps  not  to  overfeed  chil- 
dren, and  beside  it  was  a  saving  to  clean  dishes  that  way 
in  the  winter  time,  because  fuel  was  scarce  and  water 
could  only  be  got  from  boiling  snow  or  ice.  Each  of  us 
was  given  a  spoon,  but  after  being  told  of  their  method 
of  cleaning  dishes,  we  could  not  touch  any  of  it.  The 
cook  said  it  was  fine,  not  dog,  but  a  nice,  fat,  juicy  bear. 
He  wished  us  to  try  it,  and  said  that  Axel  would  have 
enjoyed  it,  as  he  was  only  good  for  doing  that  sort  of 
thing. 

Some  friend  of  the  Laps  called,  and  both  of  them  went 
outside.  While  they  were  gone  Jack  and  I  threw  our 
stew  into  a  slop  pail.  I  was  sorry  to  do  it  on  account  of 
the  children,  but  it  was  impossible  to  eat  the  stew,  and  I 
did  not  like  to  offend  the  poor  people,  as  they  meant  well. 

When  the  Laps  returned,  they  finished  the  stew,  and 
asked  if  we  would  like  some  more.  Jack  and  I  declined 
with  thanks,  even  the  cook  said  he  had  had  enough.  I  in- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  91 

timated  to  the  lady  that  I  should  like  a  cup  of  tea,  think- 
ing we  would  get  clean  cups  for  that,  but  I  was  mistaken. 
She  did  not  ask  the  children  to  lick  the  cups,  but  proceeded 
to  pour  the  tea  into  the  stew  bowls.  This  was  more  than 
Jack  and  I  could  stand,  and  as  we  were  getting  very  sick 
we  made  a  break  for  the  flap,  and  swore  never  again  to 
enter  another  Lap  tent  during  meal  hours.  The  cook 
was  very  much  offended,  and  said  he  would  never  again 
take  us  out  for  a  good  time,  in  fact  he  would  report  our 
bad  manners  to  Swanson,  who  would  not  like  to  hear  that 
at  all. 

"  Axel  would  know  how  to  behave  better  than  that," 
he  said.  We  were  too  sick  to  reply  to  him,  so  left  him 
in  disgust.  He  returned  to  the  tent,  while  Jack  and  I 
strolled  through  the  camp,  observing  the  animals,  which 
were  more  interesting. 

The  Laps  were  the  worst  beggars  I  had  ever  met. 
They  asked  us  for  everything  in  sight  that  they  thought 
belonged  to  us.  We  bought  a  few  trinkets  they  had  for 
sale,  but  they  charged  more  than  they  were  worth.  One 
asked  us  to  take  a  drink  with  him.  He  poured  out  some 
liquor  in  a  dirty  wooden  bowl.  It  smelled  like  corn 
brandy,  but  the  Lap  said  it  was  not  so;  it  was  a  much 
superior  stuff  brewed  by  themselves. 

This  might  be  the  stuff  the  cook  was  telling  us  about, 
so  we  thought  we  would  buy  him  some  for  misbehaving 
at  the  dinner  table  as  we  did.  Asking  the  Lap  how  much 
he  charged  per  bottle,  he  said  he  did  not  care  to  take 
money,  but  would  let  me  have  a  bottle  in  exchange  for 
my  coat  belonging  to  the  suit  I  bought  in  Grangemouth. 
I  told  him  to  try  again,  and  he  suggested  my  shoes  would 
be  about  right.  I  told  him  he  was  unreasonable,  and 
started  to  walk  away,  when  a  happy  thought  struck  Jack. 
Taking  out  his  tin  whistle,  he  commenced  to  play  a  tune 
which  pleased  the  Laps  very  much,  because  every  tent- 


92  YANKEE    SWANSON 

flap  was  raised,  and  in  a  short  time  the  whole  tribe^  in- 
cluding a  lot  of  dogs,  gathered  around  the  musician. 
When  he  ceased  playing,  he  wiped  his  instrument  and 
put  it  back  in  his  pocket.  The  young  folks  were  disap- 
pointed, as  they  had  paired  off  for  a  dance.  Nothing 
would  induce  Jack  to  play,  unless  they  gave  him  a  bottle 
of  their  brew.  When  they  knew  what  was  wanted  they 
went  to  their  tents  and  returned  with  bottles  galore,  which 
they  offered  as  a  gift  for  more  music. 

The  cook  and  his  lady  friend  came  out  about  that  time, 
and  he  volunteered  his  services  to  take  charge  of  the  bot- 
tles. No  objection  being  raised,  he  started  to  pick  out 
the  best  brands.  As  there  were  no  labels  on  the  bottles, 
it  was  not  an  easy  task,  but  his  nose  read  for  him.  He 
selected  a  dozen  bottles,  which  he  pronounced  extra  fine, 
and  suggested  that  I  should  take  the  bottles  down  to  the 
boat  and  watch  them  until  he  saw  fit  to  go  on  board.  I 
told  him  I  did  not  come  ashore  for  that  purpose,  but  to 
enjoy  myself. 

"  You  are  very  disagreeable,"  said  the  cook.  "  What 
more  enjoyment  could  you  have  than  the  haul  we  have 
got  away  with.  I  never  heard  of  such  luck.  Just  fancy, 
twelve  bottles  extra  dry,  and  I  expect  to  do  better  than 
that  before  we  leave.  I  don't  mind  telling  you  that  the 
lady  who  gave  us  that  excellent  stew  is  a  widow.  Do  you 
see  the  point  ?  "  with  a  knowing  wink  of  the  left  eye. 

I  told  him  I  understood.  "  Well,  she  is  the  richest 
woman  in  the  tribe ;  five  hundred  of  the  reindeer  are  hers, 
and  I  don't  know  how  many  dogs.  That  dirty  looking 
fellow  in  the  tent  is  a  brother  of  hers.  Of  course  he  is 
boss  at  present,  but  if  my  eyes  do  not  deceive  me,  there 
will  be  no  trouble  ousting  him.  The  widow  is  clean  gone 
on  me.  Did  you  notice  how  she  blushed  when  I  gave  her 
a  lover's  wink  ?  "  I  said  I  did  not  notice  it. 

"  Well,   perhaps   you   did  not  see  it.     It  was  pretty 


YANKEE    SWANSON  93 

smoky  in  there.  You  could  not  see  much  of  anything, 
-when  I  come  to  think  of  it.  She  was  blushing,  all  right, 
and  I  was  following  it  up  fine  when  that  little  fool  Jack 
spoiled  the  whole  business  by  playing  his  infernal  whistle. 
I  will  catch  up  again  if  you  will  only  do  as  I  tell  you  —  go 
to  the  boat  and  watch  the  bottles." 

The  cook  went  back  to  the  tent  of  the  charming  widow, 
while  Jack  and  I  went  down  to  the  boat  to  wait  for  the 
cook's  return.  The  Laplanders  were  in  no  mood  for 
much  fun,  I  thought,  as  they  had  pitched  their  camp  that 
day,  after  days  of  travel.  We  decided  that  we  had  se- 
lected a  bad  evening  for  calling. 

•While  waiting  for  the  cook,  Jack  entertained  me  with 
several  pieces  of  music.  He  also  danced  a  jig  that  was 
then  all  the  vogue  in  England.  He  insisted  that  I  learn 
step  dancing,  and  informed  me  that  we  could  make  a  lot 
of  money  in  England  by  dancing  in  the  music  halls.  I 
did  not  think  I  would  ever  be  able  to  master  those  fancy 
steps,  but  Jack  insisted  that  I  could  do  so  inside  of  two 
weeks  if  I  would  allow  him  to  teach  me.  So  it  came 
about  that  I  became  a  dancer.  Nobody  in  the  ship  knew 
anything  about  it.  We  used  to  ask  Swanson  for  the  boat 
to  go  ashore,  and  there  behind  rocks,  or  anything  else  that 
happened  to  be  handy,  I  received  my  first  lessons.  At 
first  I  was  very  clumsy,  but  Jack  encouraged  me.  After 
a  few  lessons  I  found  it  very  interesting ;  so  much  so  that 
on  several  occasions  I  very  nearly  gave  the  whole  thing 
away  by  forgetting  myself  and  doing  a  few  fancy  steps 
on  shipboard.  I  had  promised  Jack  that  I  would  be 
careful  and  let  no  one  know  anything  about  it  until  some 
fine  day  at  sea,  when  there  was  nothing  doing,  and  Swan- 
son  was  in  a  good  humour.  Jack  was  to  take  out  his 
whistle  and  play  one  of  his  favourites,  and  then  I  was  to 
step  out  and  do  the  grand  act  to  the  surprise  of  everybody. 
It  was  time  for  us  to  go  on  board,  but  there  were  no 


94.  YANKEE    SWANSON 

signs  of  the  cook.  Jack  said  he  would  ran  back  to  the 
camp  and  see  what  had  become  of  him.  He  found  the 
cook  and  the  widow  returning  from  a  stroll  among  the 
reindeer.  The  cook  said  he  had  found  it  most  interest- 
ing. "Which?"  asked  Jack.  "The  widow  or  the 
deer  ?  "  "  The  prospects,  you  little  fool,"  answered  the 
cook."  "  Prospects  of  what  ? "  said  Jack.  "  Another 
dog  stew  ?  "  "  'No,  the  prospects  of  giving  you  a  good 
licking  if  you  don't  behave  yourself  in  the  presence  of  a 
lady.  I  will  report  this  to  Mr.  Swanson  and  he  will  stop 
your  shore  leave."  "  I  notice  that  you  are  taking  a 
lot  of  liberties  yourself,"  said  Jack,  "by  holding  your 
arm  around  the  lady's  waist." 

"  That's  nothing,"  said  the  cook.  "  We  are  engaged, 
but  don't  say  anything  about  it.  Her  relations  are  dead 
against  it,  and  besides  she  has  a  lot  of  kids,  too  many  to 
suit  my  fancy.  But  you  can't  have  everything  your  own 
way  all  the  time.  As  I  have  told  you  before,  I  have  been 
a  fool  in  my  time  through  being  too  particular,  and  as  a 
result  the  ladies  gave  me  the  slip.  But  no  more.  I  am 
going  to  stick  to  this.  If  it  is  a  fact  that  she  is  the  owner 
of  five  hundred  head  of  reindeer,  I  don't  intend  becoming 
one  of  them  by  no  manner  of  means.  As  soon  as  I  can 
get  charge  of  the  woman  and  her  herd  I  shall  round  them 
up  and  drive  them  in  to  some  big  town  in  Sweden  and 
sell  out.  The  deer  are  worth  one  hundred  crowns  apiece. 
That  figures  up  to  fifty  thousand  crowns.  We  will  then 
settle  down  in  some  pretty  little  place  where  there  is 
plenty  of  sunshine,  to  live  on  the  fat  of  the  land.  ~No 
more  dog  stew  or  tallow  candles  for  us.  If  you  keep  this 
to  yourself  you  won't  get  the  worst  of  it.  The  little  lady 
is  extremely  fond  of  music,  and  I  don't  think  she  will 
have  any  objection  to  my  adopting  you.  Seeing  she  has 
so  many  of  her  own,  one  more  or  less  cuts  no  figure.  In 


YANKEE    SWANSON  95 

your  case,  any  one  would  take  you  for  a  Lap  anyway." 
Jack  got  angry  at  the  cook's  insinuations,  and  I  think 
the  lady  would  have  objected  also  if  she  had  understood 
English.  The  cook  was  then  informed  that  if  he  stayed 
longer  he  would  have  to  swim  to  the  ship.  He  lingered 
a  moment,  long  enough  to  steal  a  kiss  from  the  oily  widow. 
Jack  told  me  he  did  not  know  whether  the  widow  objected 
or  approved  of  the  cook's  way  of  making  love.  She 
grunted  out  something  that  might  have  meant  either. 
Anyway,  the  cook  was  satisfied,  and  after  wiping  his 
mouth  with  the  hack  of  his  hand,  he  squirted  a  mouthful  of 
tobacco  juice,  which  unfortunately  landed  in  the  eye  of 
a  dog  and  caused  it  to  set  up  a  most  ungodly  howl.  He 
then  came  aboard,  and  as  we  rowed  leisurely  along  the 
beautiful  fjord  the  cook  gave  us  an  outline  of  what  he 
intended  to  do,  provided  things  turned  out  right.  We 
were  both  sleepy  and  paid  no  attention  to  what  he  was 
saying.  He  accused  us  of  being  ungrateful  for  not  tak- 
ing more  interest  in  things  concerning  himself  when  he 
had  made  everything  interesting  for  us. 

When  we  got  alongside  of  the  ship  the  cook  wanted  to 
take  charge  of  the  bottles,  but  Jack  put  in  a  stiff  kick 
and  said  that  they  belonged  to  him.  He  was  going  to 
give  them  to  Swanson,  so  he  could  treat  the  sailors  on 
the  following  day  when  working  cargo.  The  cook  said 
that  was  a  piece  of  foolishness,  to  give  such  excellent  stuff 
to  sailors.  "  They  won't  appreciate  it.  Better  let  me 
have  it,  and  I  will  get  some  cheap  powerful  stuff  for  them 
some  other  day."  But  Jack  would  not  stand  for  that, 
and  finally  compromised  by  letting  the  cook  have  one 
bottle,  which  he  said  was  a  measly  way  of  treating  an  old 
pal  who  had  done  so  much  for  us. 

The  shore  people  were  getting  an  empty  lighter  along- 
side just  then,  and  one  of  the  men  asked  how  we  enjoyed 


96  YANKEE    SWANSON 

ourselves  at  the  camp.  The  cook  started  in  to  tell  them 
all  about  it,  but  Jack  and  I  took  ourselves  to  bed,  knowing 
we  would  have  a  hard  day's  work  the  next  day. 

Jack's  bunk  being  aft,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  drop 
a  bottle  as  he  walked  down  the  ladder.  Its  contents 
flowed  all  over  the  floor.  Swanson,  being  a  light  sleeper, 
woke  up  with  a  start,  not  on  account  of  the  noise  it  made, 
but  from  the  odour  of  the  excellent  fluid  that  had  gone  to 
waste.  He  let  out  a  roar  that  almost  frightened  poor 
Jack  to  death.  He  wanted  to  know  who  had  authorised 
him  to  bring  Chinese  stinkpots  on  board.  Jack  said  he 
had  brought  it  as  a  present  to  him,  as  the  cook  told  him 
it  was  most  excellent  stuff,  almost  as  good  as  champagne. 
Swanson  turned  out  and  took  a  smell  of  the  bottles,  after 
which  he  despatched  them  over  the  side,  and  then  told 
Jack  to  go  forward  and  tell  the  cook  that  he  wanted  to 
see  him  at  once.  I  had  just  got  my  clothes  off  when 
Jack  delivered  his  message.  The  cook  was  in  the  act  of 
treating  one  of  his  chums,  having  had  a  little  nip  himself, 
when  his  face  assumed  a  mingled  expression  of  contempt 
and  fear.  After  stowing  away  the  bottle  in  his  bunk 
and  muttering  something  to  himself,  he  walked  aft  to 
find  out  what  was  the  matter. 

The  cook  had  no  sooner  gone  than  the  friend  he  had 
treated  called  all  hands  to  take  a  drink.  Inside  of  two 
minutes  the  bottle  was  empty,  and  everybody  in  their 
bunks  again.  When  the  cook  came  aft  Swanson  repri- 
manded him  for  having  been  so  inconsiderate  as  to  let 
the  boys  have  liquor  when  he  had  cautioned  him  to  take 
good  care  of  us.  It  was  with  that  understanding  that  he 
had  allowed  him  to  accompany  us  ashore. 

The  cook  told  the  whole  truth  regarding  the  stuff,  and 
how  it  came  into  our  possession.  Jack  was  very  much 
surprised,  and  so  was  I  when  he  told  me  what  the  cook 
had  said.  I  never  thought  that  he  was  capable  of  telling 


YANKEE    SWANSON  97 

so  much  truth  at  one  time.  Swanson  forgave  him  on  the 
understanding  that  it  did  not  occur  again,  and  ordered 
him  to  get  a  bucket  of  water  and  a  rag  to  clean  the  cabin. 

The  cook  said  something  about  letting  the  boy  who  had 
dropped  the  stuff  do  the  cleaning  up,  but  Swanson  would 
not  hear  of  it  and  told  him  he  should  consider  himself 
lucky  to  get  off  so  easily.  Jack  took  pity  and  offered  to 
clean  up,  but  Swanson  would  not  have  it  that  way.  He 
said  that  was  encouraging  vice.  The  result  was  the  old 
cook  got  the  bucket  of  water  and  made  a  bluff  at  cleaning 
it  up. 

After  the  job  was  done  he  came  into  the  fo'cs'le  with 
the  intention  of  having  a  good  nip  before  going  to  bed. 
He  sat  down  and  stared  at  the  lamp  hanging  from  the 
ceiling.  I  was  still  awake,  and  kept  watching  his  old 
face.  It  really  was  a  sad  sight  to  behold,  and  I  won- 
dered what  thoughts  passed  through  the  old  man's  brains. 
He  must  have  felt  humiliated  to  be  treated  in  the  manner 
that  Swanson  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  imposing  on  him. 
I  thought  then,  and  have  thought  thousands  of  times  since, 
how  it  is  a  person  in  authority  can  take  pleasure  in  humil- 
iating a  person  who  is  not  in  a  position  to  retaliate. 

I  liked  Swanson,  but  I  certainly  did  not  approve  of  the 
way  he  treated  the  old  man,  who  in  his  way  was  harmless. 
As  I  lay  there  in  my  bunk  watching  the  old  fellow,  his 
face  furrowed  from  half  a  century  of  hardship  and  dissi- 
pation, I  felt  sorry  for  him,  and  I  prayed  to  God  to  pro- 
tect me  from  a  similar  fate. 

After  a  while  the  cook  commenced  to  grope  for  his 
bottle,  and  when  he  discovered  that  it  was  empty  his  rage 
knew  no  bounds.  He  worked  himself  into  a  frenzy  and 
threatened  to  kill  all  hands.  With  that  object  in  view 
he  went  out  and  soon  returned  with  a  large  axe  used  for 
chopping  wood.  The  sailors  all  pretended  to  snore,  but 
woke  up  suddenly  when  they  saw  the  cook  meant  business. 


98  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Axel  and  the  sailor  who  shipped  at  Grangemouth  ran  out 
on  the  deck  shouting  "  Murder."  This  brought  the  cap- 
tain and  the  two  mates  forward  on  the  run,  and  Axel, 
without  being  asked  anything  about  the  racket,  commenced 
to  tell  the  captain  the  whole  thing,  which  was  only  partly 
true.  He  did  not  say  anything  about  himself  and  the 
men  stealing  the  bottle  and  drinking  the  contents.  He 
said  they  were  all  asleep  and  that  the  cook  came  in,  wak- 
ing the  whole  lot  of  them  by  threatening  to  kill  them  all. 

Swanson  walked  into  the  fo'cs'le,  where  he  found  the 
cook  sitting  on  the  box  with  the  axe  in  his  hand.  Swan- 
son  asked  him  for  the  axe,  which  he  readily  gave  up.  He 
then  asked  him  what  made  him  go  crazy  all  at  once. 
The  cook  told  him  about  the  bottle  that  he  had  brought, 
intending  to  give  them  all  a  drink,  but  while  he  had  been 
in  the  cabin  they  had  stolen  his  bottle  and  consumed  the 
contents.  Swanson,  turning  to  the  men,  asked  them  if 
such  was  the  case,  and  they  all  swore  the  cook  was  telling 
a  lie.  The  cook  proposed  that  the  second  mate  should 
smell  their  breaths,  but  Mr.  Ericson  objected  to  this. 
"  Thank  God  I  am  not  a  drinking  man,"  he  said.  "  That 
is  the  reason  I  proposed  you  should  smell  them,  as  you 
would  be  sure  to  detect  them,"  said  the  cook.  "  The  boy 
must  have  seen  and  heard  the  whole  business,  but  if  he 
was  to  tell  the  truth  these  galoots  would  throw  him  over- 
board some  dark  night.  They  are  the  meanest  lot  I  ever 
had  the  misfortune  to  be  shipmates  with,  and  that  is  the 
reason  I  intended  to  finish  them  all  off  with  an  axe,  as 
there  ain't  a  single  one  that  I  would  care  to  soil  my  hands 
with  in  a  square  stand-up  fight." 

Captain  Bengston  came  into  the  fo'cs'le  and  proposed 
that  the  safest  way  would  be  to  put  the  cook  in  irons 
until  he  came  to  his  senses.  Swanson  said  that  it  was 
not  fair,  as  he  felt  sure  the  cook  was  the  injured  party. 
He  then  asked  me  if  I  knew  anything  about  the  matter. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  99 

"  Don't  be  afraid  to  speak  out,"  he  said,  "  I  will  see  that 
nobody  puts  a  hand  on  you,  and  if  they  do,  they  will  get 
something  that  they  will  not  forget  in  a  hurry." 

I  repeated  the  cook's  statement,  and  when  I  had  fin- 
ished, the  fellow  from  Grangemouth  shouted  that  I  was 
as  big  a  liar  as  the  cook.  He  did  not  say  any  more  just 
then,  because  Ericson,  who  was  standing  close  by,  got  a 
whiff  of  his  breath,  and  not  being  able  to  stand  the  smell 
of  liquor,  decided  to  close  his  mouth,  which  he  did  with 
a  blow  powerful  enough  to  fell  an  ox.  The  fellow  fell 
on  the  floor,  completely  knocked  out.  A  chum  of  his 
tried  to  restore  him  by  throwing  water  on  his  face,  at  the 
same  time  remarking  that  it  would  cost  the  mate  dearly. 
Ericson  laid  him  low  in  a  similar  manner,  and  asked  if 
any  more  had  anything  to  say  about  the  matter.  No- 
body responding,  Swanson  told  them  all  to  go  to  bed  and 
leave  the  cook  alone,  as  he  expected  all  to  turn  to  in  a 
couple  of  hours,  otherwise  he  would  take  a  hand  in  the 
fun  himself.  He  ordered  the  cook  into  the  galley,  and 
he  was  glad  to  get  out ;  he  did  not  have  to  be  told  twice. 
When  the  two  men  whom  Ericson  had  knocked  out  came 
to  look  at  themselves,  they  swore  that  the  cook  would  soon 
have  to  make  a  long  journey  to  a  place  where  all  sea- 
cooks  go. 

I  lay  awake  listening  to  their  talk,  expecting  every  mo- 
ment to  hear  of  some  fancy  place  that  would  be  assigned 
as  my  abiding  place  in  the  future.  Nothing  was  said 
about  me,  so  I  guessed  that  Swanson's  warning  had  a 
wholesome  effect. 

Next  morning  I  was  wakened  by  the  cook  singing 
"  Nancy  Lee "  in  the  galley.  I  had  to  laugh  when  I 
thought  of  all  the  racket  a  few  hours  before.  Evidently 
the  cook  had  forgotten  all  about  it  and  was  ready  to  be 
friends  with  the  whole  world  if  given  half  a  chance.  I 
got  up  and  went  into  the  galley  to  find  the  cook  busy  with 


100  YANKEE    SWANSON 

the  coffee-pot.  He  was  glad  to  see  me,  and  gladder  still 
that  I  had  told  the  truth  regardless  of  consequences. 

"  I  am  proud  of  you,"  he  said.  "  You  never  said  any- 
thing about  the  other  bottles  that  I  wanted  to  take  charge 
of  last  night.  It  was  lucky  you  did  not,  for  if  those  swine 
had  got  hold  of  them  there  would  have  been  murder  sure; 
as  it  is,  it  is  bad  enough.  Say,  what  a  wonderful  slug- 
ger that  fellow  Ericson  is.  He  can  give  cards  and 
spades  to  Swanson  when  it  comes  to  hard  hitting.  I  bet 
those  two  fellows  he  laid  out  won't  be  able  to  eat  for 
several  days.  If  they  are  slack  about  turning  to  this 
morning,  Yankee  will  put  the  finishing  touches  on  them. 
I  was  somewhat  to  blame,  as  it  was  wrong  to  give  them 
good  liquor.  It  requires  a  gentleman  like  myself  to  ap- 
preciate good  stuff.  Swanson  does  not,  and  most  people 
make  mistakes  by  judging,  entirely,  the  odour.  That  is 
all  wrong.  Suppose  you  were  to  buy  Limburger  cheese  in 
London;  the  grocer  would  think  you  were  crazy  if  you 
objected  to  the  odour.  It  is  the  same  with  liquor.  If 
Swanson  had  only  tasted  instead  of  smelling,  he  never 
would  have  thrown  it  overboard.  There  is  no  use  crying 
over  spilt  milk,  but  next  time  we  make  a  haul  like  that 
we  won't  tell  anybody."  I  replied  that  it  was  doubtful 
if  Swanson  would  let  us  go  any  more,  on  account  of  the 
racket  last  night.  He  seemed  to  think  that  Jack  and  I 
could  square  matters  by  telling  the  mate  how  much  the 
widow  was  in  love  with  him.  Even  if  we  stretched  the 
point  a  little  and  added  that  she  intended  to  present  him 
with  a  young  reindeer,  he  would  not  feel  hurt  about  it. 

I  suggested  that  if  she  did  give  the  reindeer  calf  that 
he  take  it  on  board  alive  or  else  be  present  when  it  was 
killed,  as  otherwise  she  might  palm  a  dog  off  on  us.  He 
laughed  and  said  if  such  should  be  the  case  he  would  cook 
a  first  class  dogstew  that  they  would  never  forget.  If 
he  did  that  I  would  have  to  tell  the  truth  about  it,  and 


YANKEE    SWANSON  101 

then  what  if  he  should  happen  to  run  up  against  Ericson's 
fist.  He  admitted  that  the  results  would  be  far  from 
pleasant. 

!No  more  was  said  about  the  stew,  and  as  it  was  "  turn 
to  "  time,  the  night  watchman  called  the  men  for  their 
coffee.  The  men  started  to  come  out  one  by  one,  swear- 
ing at  every  one,  particularly  the  cook,  who  rather  en- 
joyed the  abuse,  as  he  kept  singing  "  Nancy  Lee  "  until 
the  sailors  threatened  to  bombard  his  galley  with  lump 
coal. 

When  the  lighter-men  came  from  shore,  Ericson  went 
forward  and  sang  out  "  Turn  to."  Swanson  was  stand- 
ing at  the  main  hatch,  watching  us,  as  we  piled  up  from 
the  fo'cs'le.  He  noticed  that  the  two  men  who  had  got 
licked  by  the  second  mate  did  not  come.  He  ordered 
Ericson  to  see  why  they  were  not  present.  In  the  mean- 
time the  rest  of  us  went  to  our  respective  stations  and 
started  to  hoist  the  coal.  The  second  mate  was  a  long 
time  returning  —  at  least  Swanson  thought  so.  He  went 
forward  to  investigate  matters  himself. 

It  now  appeared  that  these  two  men  refused  to  do  any 
work,  demanding  to  see  the  captain  about  getting  paid  off. 
The  cook  was  accordingly  sent  aft  to  summon  the  captain, 
who  when  he  made  his  appearance  had  some  irons  in  his 
hand  and  a  law  book.  The  captain  explained  to  the  men 
what  would  be  done  to  them  if  they  did  not  return  to 
work  at  once.  The  Swedish  law  is  very  severe  for  of- 
fences of  that  sort,  so  the  men  decided  to  go  back  to 
work. 

They  certainly  had  changed  in  looks  since  I  last  saw 
them.  One  could  hardly  see  on  account  of  his  eyes  being 
swollen.  The  other  fellow's  jaw  was  entirely  out  of  shape, 
and  his  face  of  a  purple  color.  Both  had  formerly  worked 
at  the  winch,  but  now  on  account  of  their  changed  appear- 
ance they  asked  Swanson  as  a  favour  to  allow  them  to  go  to 


102  YANKEE    SWANSON 

the  hold,  where  they  would  not  be  so  conspicuous.  This 
was  granted,  but  not  with  very  good  grace. 

Ericson  said  several  times  during  the  day  that  he  was 
thankful  to  the  Almighty  that  he  was  not  like  these  fellows 
who  did  not  know  how  to  behave  themselves,  and  conse- 
quently met  with  such  awful  accidents.  "  Here  I  am," 
he  said,  looking  at  his  left  hand,  "  in  pain  and  hardly 
able  to  upset  the  basket,  all  on  account  of  their  bad 
manners  toward  a  fellow  that  always  wishes  them  well. 
It  ought  to  be  a  warning  to  them  that  they  can  afford  to 
profit  by  in  the  future.  Just  think  of  what  would  have 
happened  if  they  had  run  up  against  Swanson.  They 
should  thank  their  stars  that  I  can't  hit  very  hard,  and 
then  I  am  soft-hearted,  too." 

The  cook,  who  heard  Ericson  express  himself  that  way, 
thought  it  would  not  be  amiss  to  say  something  by  way  of 
sympathy,  and  said  that  he  was  handicapped  himself  with 
too  soft  a  heart.  "  When  I  saw  you  hit  the  men  last 
night  I  am  sure  I  felt  the  pain  a  great  deal  more  than 
they  did." 

"  Is  that  so  ?  "  said  Ericson.  "  How  do  you  think  you 
would  have  felt  if  I  had  succeeded  in  killing  them  off  with 
the  meat  axe  ?  " 

The  cook  was  not  prepared  to  answer  that  question. 
He  shook  his  head  and  requested  Ericson  not  to  refer  to 
that  matter  again,  as  he  felt  like  crying. 

The  lighter  was  loaded  by  noon,  and  there  being  no 
more  empties  for  the  afternoon,  Swanson  let  us  have  the 
day  to  ourselves  after  we  had  swept  the  decks  and  cleaned 
up  generally.  The  cook  was  a  splendid  fisherman  at  all 
times,  but  this  morning  he  had  caught  enough  cod  and 
halibut  to  fill  a  deck  tub.  These  he  had  stewed,  boiled, 
and  fried,  and  it  was  certainly  a  feast.  He  also  made  a 
delicious  broth  for  the  two  men  who  had  sore  jaws.  It 
being  my  duty  to  fetch  the  grub  from  the  galley,  the  cook 


YANKEE    SWANSON  103 

told  ine  that  the  broth  was  for  sick  men  only.  I  declined 
to  tell  the  fellows,  giving  as  a  reason  that  I  was  not  soft- 
hearted enough. 

"  You  need  not  tell  me  that,"  said  the  cook.  "  If  you 
had  not  backed  up  Jack  he  would  have  let  me  take  the 
other  bottles,  and  these  poor  fellows  would  not  have  met 
with  such  nasty  accidents.  You  are  to  blame  for  it,  and 
the  least  you  can  do  is  to  see  that  they  get  proper  nourish- 
ment." 

I  told  him  that  I  would  tell  the  men  the  broth  was  there 
and  they  could  help  themselves. 

"  All  right,  have  it  your  own  way.  You  will  never 
amount  to  anything  in  this  life,"  he  said,  "  for  you  won't 
take  advice  from  your  betters.  Never  ask  me  for  a  favour 
again.  Everything  is  Swanson  with  you.  Here  is  your 
grub,  and  get  out  of  here." 

The  men  were  very  hungry  and  thought  the  fish  were 
delicious.  The  sick  men  made  several  attempts  to  eat, 
but  without  success.  It  must  have  been  a  painful  process, 
judging  from  their  wry  faces.  They  got  angry  when  I 
delivered  the  cook's  message.  They  did  not  say  or  swear 
much,  but  gave  me  plenty  of  black  looks,  and  muttered 
something  about  what  a  nuisance  it  was  to  have  kids  in 
the  fo'cs'le. 

Axel  laughed  at  these  remarks,  as  he  classified  himself 
as  a  man,  though  he  had  been  whipped  by  a  boy  twice, 
and  he  stood  a  splendid  chance  of  getting  another  whaling 
if  he  kept  up  his  fun  much  longer. 

After  a  while  one  of  the  men  thought  he  would  try  a 
smoke,  thinking  to  get  some  comfort.  He  had  no  sooner 
lit  the  pipe  than  he  threw  it  away,  and  swore  the  pain 
was  the  worst  he  had  ever  experienced.  If  he  ever  got 
back  to  civilisation  again  he  was  determined  to  fix  Eric- 
son.  He  said  he  felt  like  giving  his  shipmates  a  piece  of 
his  mind  for  allowing  him  to  be  treated  the  way  he  was, 


104  YANKEE    SWANSON 

but  would  defer  it  until  some  other  time.  The  other 
fellow  did  not  have  very  much  to  say,  as  a  pain  in  his 
stomach  bothered  him.  He  kept  rocking  his  body  and 
groaning  with  pain.  Once  or  twice  his  nostrils  twitched 
as  a  dog's  will  when  they  smell  something  good.  I  guess 
he  perceived  the  odour  of  the  broth,  which  he  longed  for. 
After  some  groaning  he  said  if  he  only  had  something  that 
he  could  eat  he  would  feel  better,  and  would  be  pleased  if 
some  one  would  fetch  the  broth,  as  he  could  not  go  him- 
self, and  the  looks  of  that  old  hyena  in  the  galley  would 
make  him  worse.  Axel  offered  his  services,  but  they  were 
declined  because  of  his  liability  to  drink  it  all  before  he 
got  to  the  fo'cs'le,  just  as  he  did  the  rum  last  night.  He 
then  asked  me  if  I  would  go.  Thinking  to  oblige  him,  I 
went  to  the  galley,  but  the  cook  said  I  was  too  late. 

"  Do  you  think  I  am  running  an  all  day  and  night  res- 
taurant ? "  he  demanded. 

I  pleaded  with  him,  saying  that  he  would  be  sorry  if  he 
did  not  give  it  to  them ;  his  tender  heart  would  rebel  when 
he  saw  their  suffering,  as  it  did  the  night  before  when  the 
second  mate  pummeled  them. 

Just  then  Captain  Bengston  came  out  on  the  poop-deck 
and  shouted  "  Cook !  "  Munchausen  went  aft  to  see  what 
was  wanted.  This  was  my  chance.  I  took  the  copper 
pan  with  the  broth  in  it  to  the  fo'cs'le,  emptied  it  into 
another  pan,  and  put  the  cook's  pan  back  into  place. 

The  sick  man  went  at  the  soup  as  if  he  had  never  eaten 
before,  while  the  other  one  eyed  him  and  waited  for  an 
invitation  to  join.  "  Ain't  you  going  to  leave  some  for 
your  pal  ?  "  said  one  of  the  men.  The  fellow  retorted, 
"  Don't  talk.  What  can  you  expect  from  a  man  like 
him?  He  would  see  a  man  starve  to  death  before  he 
would  offer  you  a  bite,  and  I  was  the  only  one  that  took 
his  part  last  night.  I  am  sorry  now  that  I  did  not  let 


YANKEE    SWANSON  105 

Ericson  hammer  him  thoroughly.  Never  again  will  I 
take  his  part." 

Ericson  came  forward  and  said  that  Swanson  wanted 
me.  Going  aft,  Swanson  said  that  Jack  and  I  were  to 
fix  ourselves  up  and  go  with  him  in  the  boat.  We  were 
not  long  in  getting  ready,  and  we  soon  had  the  boat  at  the 
ladder,  with  a  flag  in  the  stern  sheets.  Swanson  appeared 
togged  out  in  his  best,  smiling,  and  with  a  cigar  in  his 
mouth.  We  knew  then  it  was  either  the  whaling  station 
or  the  Lap  camp.  A  great  number  of  boats  had  been 
rowing  past  us  during  the  morning  toward  the  camp,  so 
we  expected  there  was  something  doing  in  the  camp  that 
evening. 

Before  Swanson  came  into  the  boat  the  cook  came  to  the 
side  and  whispered  to  me,  "  Say,  kid,  if  you  see  that  little 
lady  of  mine  tell  her  that  I  will  call  on  her  this  evening 
and  settle  matters."  I  told  him  not  to  worry,  that  she 
would  be  informed  of  his  tender  heart  and  how  he  made 
sick  people  comfortable. 

The  conversation  was  cut  short  by  Swanson's  appear- 
ance, who  ordered  the  cook  to  get  out,  as  he  was  not 
wanted.  The  cook  gave  me  a  sly  wink,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"  Make  it  all  right  for  me  with  the  widow,  and  I  won't 
forget  it."  Jack  and  I  then  bent  to  the  oars  with  a  will. 
After  a  little,  Swanson  ordered  us  to  take  in  oars  and 
step  the  mast  with  two  sails  set  —  a  sprit  and  jib  sail. 

The  wind  being  fair  at  the  time,  we  went  with  the  sheet 
well  slacked  off,  flying  through  the  water.  Swanson  put 
on  his  Sunday  smile  and  acted  like  a  boy  at  a  picnic.  He 
explained  to  us  the  art  of  sailing  a  boat  to  advantage. 
We  became  interested  in  what  he  said  to  us,  and  that 
pleased  him  very  much.  He  allowed  us  to  steer  the  boat 
while  he  attended  to  the  sheets  himself,  which  was  the  most 
important  part  of  sailing  in  these  waters,  on  account  of 
the  fierce  squalls  that  originate  in  the  canyons  and  be- 


106  YANKEE    SWANSON 

tween  the  islands,  having  enough  force  to  upset  any  craft 
if  the  sheets  are  not  looked  after  properly. 

In  rounding  a  little  island,  one  of  these  squalls  struck 
us.  The  boat  careened  and  took  in  a  lot  of  water  over 
the  lee  gunwale.  Swanson  sung  out  to  Jack,  who  was 
steering  at  the  time,  "  Hard  down."  At  the  same  time 
he  let  fly  the  sheets.  Jack  and  I  became  quite  excited, 
but  Swanson  laughed  although  his  fancy  shoes  were  full 
of  water. 

The  squall  lasted  about  a  minute  or  so,  but  Swanson 
said  he  was  going  to  take  no  chances.  We  then  put  into 
a  little  island  and  took  on  board  a  lot  of  rocks  as  ballast. 
The  water  was  baled  out  and  we  set  off  again,  with  Swan- 
son  steering  and  each  of  us  with  a  sail  apiece,  fully  warned 
to  look  out  for  squalls. 

The  boat  was  well  pointed  up  to  the  wind,  which  was 
blowing  quite  briskly  now  as  we  made  several  tacks  across 
the  fjord.  Swanson  said  she  was  as  stiff  as  an  old  church. 
In  rounding  an  island  called  the  Chimney,  so  named  on 
account  of  its  shape,  we  fell  in  with  another  sailboat  of 
our  own  size.  Swanson  sized  it  up  for  a  moment  and 
said  we  could  beat  it,  and  bore  down  on  it  to  utter  his 
challenge.  When  within  speaking  distance,  it  turned  out 
to  be  the  manager  of  the  whaling  station  and  two  of  his 
men  out  for  a  spin  on  the  fjord.  They  said  they  were 
expecting  to  meet  the  English  yacht  that  had  been  due  for 
several  days,  but  not  being  in  sight,  had  decided  to  run 
down  to  the  Laplanders'  camp  to  see  what  was  going  on. 
Swanson  said  the  camp  was  our  destination  also,  and  if 
they  were  game  he  would  put  up  twenty  crowns  on  which 
boat  would  get  there  first.  "  All  right,"  said  the  manager, 
"  I  will  go  you,  but  let  me  take  on  a  little  more  ballast." 
"  I  will  do  the  same,"  said  Swanson. 

The  manager  and  Swanson  were  jollying  each  other  on 
the  outcome  of  the  race.  The  former  took  a  bottle  out  of 


YANKEE    SWANSON  107 

his  pocket  and  took  a  stiff  drink,  begging  Swanson  to 
excuse  him  for  not  offering  him  any,  as  it  was  not  con- 
sidered good  form  in  Norway  to  offer  an  opponent  a  drink 
before  a  fight  or  a  race.  "  But  regardless  of  who  is  win- 
ner, we  will  have  a  drink  together  when  we  get  to  the 
camp." 

The  distance  from  the  island  to  the  camp  was  a  little 
over  seven  nautical  miles  the  nearest  way.  A  small  island 
situated  in  the  centre  of  the  fjord,  and  about  half  way  to 
the  camp  could  be  passed  on  either  side.  It  was  under- 
stood by  the  manager  that  each  party  had  the  right  to 
choose  their  own  route,  if  it  was  advantageous. 

By  keeping  the  island  on  the  starboard  side  the  dis- 
tance to  camp  was  a  mile  longer,  but  if  the  wind  held  out 
right  it  would  be  a  fair  wind  after  rounding  the  island, 
whereas  if  keeping  to  the  port  side  it  would  be  a  dead  beat 
to  windward,  provided  the  wind  did  not  change. 

It  was  3  o'clock  by  the  manager's  watch  when  he  gave 
the  word  to  start.  In  a  moment  we  had  the  sails  set  and 
stood  off  on  the  starboard  tack,  with  the  manager's  boat 
in  the  lead.  He  did  not  point  as  high  as  we  did,  so  Swan- 
son  thought  he  was  blanketing  us,  and  went  about.  The 
manager  made  a  long  leg  of  it  and  did  not  go  about  until 
he  was  close  over  on  the  other  shore.  On  his  return  tack 
he  discovered  that  he  had  made  a  mess  of  it,  as  Swanson 
was  to  the  windward  of  him.  Evidently  our  boat  was  the 
better  sailer  on  the  wind,  or  else  the  current  helped  us. 

On  passing  the  manager,  Swanson  shouted,  "  Double 
your  stakes,"  but  the  former  said  he  would  see  about  it 
when  we  got  up  to  the  island. 

"  It  will  be  too  late  then,"  said  Swanson,  "  as  we  will 
be  so  far  in  the  lead  that  we  can't  talk  to  you,  and  I  am  not 
going  to  wait  for  you  there  for  the  sake  of  another  twenty 
crowns." 

The  manager  started  to  make  short  tacks,  and  Swan- 


108  YANKEE    SWANSON 

son,  out  of  pure  mischief,  made  a  long  leg  and  stood  over 
to  the  other  shore,  but  soon  a  gust  of  wind  came  that  put 
the  lee  gunwale  almost  in  the  water.  We  kept  our  eyes  on 
Swanson,  expecting  him  to  sing  out,  "  Slack  away,"  in- 
stead of  which  he  said,  "  Hold  on  to  everything,  and  don't 
slack  an  inch,  if  you  know  what  is  good  for  you."  The 
wind  then  veered  a  couple  of  points  in  our  favour,  but  the 
manager's  boat  was  too  far  to  leeward  for  us  to  shout  to 
him,  so  we  contented  ourselves  by  waving  our  caps  at  him. 

At  4  o'clock  we  were  at  the  island,  and  Swanson,  find- 
ing that  the  wind  was  still  from  the  same  quarter,  decided 
to  beat  to  windward  and  make  a  fair  wind  to  the  camp. 
The  channel  was  very  narrow,  and  the  wind,  falling  light, 
we  did  not  make  good  time.  But  then  the  manager  was 
a  good  half  mile  in  the  rear,  and  everything  pointed  to 
our  winning  the  race.  While  the  wind  was  light  with  us, 
down  to  leeward  it  was  fresh,  with  the  manager  mak- 
ing for  the  other  passage.  When  he  disappeared  on  the 
other  side  we  were  unable  to  tell  how  he  was  getting  along. 
We  were  anxiously  waiting  for  the  wind,  which  ultimately 
did  come  with  as  much  as  we  could  take  care  of.  After 
three  or  four  tacks  we  weathered  the  island  and  squared  off 
for  the  Laps'  camp,  with  a  flowing  sheet.  Swanson  was 
happy  and  singing.  Jack  thought  of  playing  on  the  whis- 
tle, but  Swanson  ordered  him  to  attend  to  his  spinnaker 
sheet. 

When  we  had  covered  a  couple  of  miles  the  manager's 
boat  appeared  at  the  other  end  of  the  channel.  It  was 
quite  evident  that  he  was  badly  beaten.  At  4:45  we 
rounded  to  off  the  camp,  doused  the  sails  and  put  out  the 
oars,  landing  on  a  smooth,  sandy  beach  and  securing  the 
boat. 

Swanson  decided  to  rest  a  bit  until  the  manager  arrived. 
"  We  will  drink  to  his  health,"  he  said,  "  if  anything  is 
left  in  the  bottle.  If  there  is  not,  it  will  be  an  additional 


YANKEE  SWANSON. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  109 

expense.  Half  of  the  stake  belongs  to  you,  boys,  to  do  as 
you  like  with,  except  to  buy  any  more  of  that  stuff  you 
brought  on  board  last  night." 

We  faithfully  promised  to  obey  his  orders.  He  then 
related  to  us  his  varied  experience  in  boat  sailing,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  and  it  was  interesting,  more  par- 
ticularly so  when  he  told  us  of  the  large  amount  of  money 
that  changed  hands  on  the  outcome  of  yacht  racing  in 
America. 

It  was  5 :45  when  the  manager's  boat  arrived  off  the 
camp.  We  gave  them  three  cheers  when  they  rounded 
to.  The  manager  embraced  Swanson  like  a  long  lost 
brother,  and  brought  out  the  bottle,  but  it  was  empty,  and 
the  evidence  was  right  there  in  his  face  and  walk.  He 
was  a  good  loser,  and  paid  his  money  without  any  com- 
plaint. Swanson  turned  over  half  of  it  to  us.  The  man- 
ager told  Swanson  that  he  was  so  confident  of  winning  the 
race  he  would  have  bet  any  amount  of  money  on  the  out- 
come before  we  started,  but  seeing  how  he  handled  the  boat 
we  felt  less  sanguine  about  it.  It  was  the  first  race  he  had 
lost,  and  would  not  have  minded  if  he  had  lost  it  to 
a  Norwegian. 

"  What  difference  does  that  make  ?  "  asked  Swanson. 
"  If  you  find  it  so  very  hard  to  lose  to  a  Swede,  let  us 
have  another  go  at  it  again  next  week,  and  both  of  us 
put  a  little  more  money  on  the  result." 

"  I'll  go  you,"  said  the  manager,  shaking  hands.  "  The 
English  yacht  will  be  here  for  sure,  and  King  Oscar  is  on 
his  way  down  from  the  North  Cape,  where  he  has  been 
watching  the  midnight  sun,  and  most  likely  he  will  drop 
in  for  a  few  days.  When  he  is  here  we  always  get  up 
something  in  the  way  of  sport,  and  he  being  a  Swede,  will 
take  more  than  ordinary  interest  in  it.  He  will  hang  up 
a  purse  that  will  be  worth  sailing  for.  Come  on  up  to 
camp  and  see  if  we  can  get  something  safe  to  swallow. 


110  YANKEE    SWANSON 

As  a  rule  it  is  fierce  stuff  they  have.  I  hear  from  my 
men  that  some  of  your  men  got  badly  poisoned  by  it." 

"  Yes,  that's  a  fact,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  they  met 
with  an  accident  afterward/'  Swanson  replied. 

"  Is  that  so  ?     Did  they  fall  overboard  ?  " 

"  Worse  than  that ;  they  ran  tip  against  the  second 
mate's  fist,  and  have  lost  their  appetites  for  the  time 
being." 

"  He  does  not  look  like  that  kind  of  a  man,"  said  the 
manager. 

"  That's  true.  He  is  a  very  tender-hearted  man,  but 
it  was  his  fist  that  did  the  job ;  his  heart  had  no  say  in  the 
matter." 

"  That  seems  funny  to  me." 

"  It  does  not  to  the  poor  men,"  said  Swanson.  "  You 
can  see  them  for  yourself  to-morrow  if  you.  are  coming  to 
see  me  about  that  race  of  ours." 

Arriving  at  the  camp,  we  found  a  large  number  of 
visitors.  God  knows  where  they  all  came  from.  Jack 
had  no  idea  there  were  so  many  people  in  Norway.  The 
manager  was  hunting  for  a  bottle  of  good  liquor  so  that  he 
could  treat.  There  were  many  peddlers  and  many  kinds 
of  liquor,  but  none  of  the  kind  he  wanted.  At  last  he 
got  what  suited  him,  and  they  sat  down  at  a  table  with  the 
bottle  and  some  glasses.  Jack  and  I  excused  ourselves 
after  which  we  wandered  off  to  hunt  up  the  cook's  sweet- 
heart, who  came  in  sight  very  unexpectedly. 

We  entered  a  circus  tent,  and  found  it  to  contain  a 
dancing  bear,  an  organ  grinder,  and  a  Dutchman  trying  to 
stand  on  his  head,  which  he  did  not  succeed  in  doing. 
He  seemed  very  much  put  out  about  it,  and  blamed  the 
audience,  which  was  very  noisy.  He  had  better  success 
with  the  bear,  who  danced  all  right,  but  growled  a  good 
deal,  as  though  he  did  not  like  it.  The  Dutchman  en- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  111 

couraged  him  to  make  funny  noises  by  freely  using  a  heavy 
hardwood  stick  on  the  paws  and  ribs. 

The  cook's  lady  love  was  in  the  circus  and  elbowed  her 
way  to  us  through  the  crowd.  She  shook  hands  as  if  we 
were  old  time  acquaintances.  Jack  was  her  favourite,  and 
she  lavished  all  her  attention  on  him,  and  he  in  his  best 
Swedish  tried  to  tell  her  that  the  cook  would  come  along 
later.  It  was  amusing  to  me,  and  I  enjoyed  the  conver- 
sation more  than  the  circus. 

When  the  show  was  over  we  went  to  look  for  something 
else,  and  hearing  music  from  a  near-by  tent,  we  decided 
to  enter.  The  widow  told  us  it  was  very  fine  dancing. 
"  Just  like  you,"  pointing  to  Jack.  I  invited  the  widow 
to  come  along,  and  wondered  what  the  cook  would  say  if 
he  saw  me  with  her.  When  we  entered,  judge  of  our 
surprise  to  see  Swanson  and  the  manager  watching  a  clog 
dancer  on  a  portable  platform.  They  did  not  notice  us 
enter,  so  I  went  up  to  Swanson  and  gave  a  pull  to  his  coat 
tail.  Turning  around  he  asked  for  Jack,  and  I  told  him 
he  was  escorting  the  widow.  He  ordered  me  to  bring  him 
at  once.  "  Shall  I  bring  the  widow  also  ?  "  He  made  a 
grab  for  me,  but  I  ducked  and  got  away.  I  saw  him 
relating  something  to  the  manager,  at  which  they  both 
laughed  heartily. 

The  tent  was  packed  with  fisher-folk  and  farmers  from 
the  surrounding  country,  and  also  people  from  Bodo. 
This  gathering  was  nothing  else  than  an  annual  fair, 
where  all  the  people  combined  business  with  pleasure. 
The  Laps  disposed  of  their  reindeer  product  and  bought 
supplies  for  the  winter. 

I  returned  with  Jack  and  the  widow  to  where  Swanson 
and  the  manager  were.  The  latter  recognised  the  widow 
as  an  old  acquaintance,  and  informed  us  that  she  was  one 
of  the  wealthiest  in  the  tribe.  She  was  considered  quite 


112  YANKEE    SWANSON 

a  "  catch."  Swanson  said  that  the  cook  had  succeeded  in 
landing  her  all  right,  and  was  waiting  to  get  another  show 
at  her,  when  he  would  be  king  of  the  whole  tribe,  dogs  and 
all.  The  manager  said  he  was  welcome  to  her. 

"  Jack,  here  is  a  chance  for  you  to  make  an  honest 
crown  or  two,"  said  Swanson.  "  Did  you  bring  your 
whistle  ?  "  Jack  answered  in  the  affirmative.  "  I  want 
you  up  on  that  platform,  just  to  show  these  people  what 
is  really  a  dance.  You  do  your  best  and  we  will  do  the 
rest.  As  you  have  your  wooden  shoes  on,  give  us  a  clog 
dance.  Use  plenty  of  steam  and  kick  the  stuffing  out  of 
that  platform." 

Jack  did  not  seem  to  fancy  the  proposition.  The  audi- 
ence was  not  to  his  liking.  He  asked  Swanson  to  allow 
me  to  dance  with  him,  but  he  would  not  listen  to  it,  so 
Jack  took  out  his  whistle  and  announced  that  he  was 
ready.  The  manager  stepped  forward  and  said  that  he 
would  introduce  a  little  sailor  who  had  a  great  reputation 
in  England  and  France  as  a  clog  dancer,  and  would  fur- 
nish his  own  music  while  dancing.  He  also  hoped  that  if 
the  dancing  came  up  to  their  point  of  view  they  would  not 
refuse  to  put  something  in  the  hat  when  it  was  passed 
around. 

The  manager  then  took  Jack  to  the  platform  and  lifted 
him  up,  the  audience  cheering  the  little  foreigner  lustily. 
Jack  bowed  and  acknowledged  the  greeting  in  true  actor 
style,  which  caused  Swanson  to  say  aloud,  "  The  boy  is  a 
born  actor.  I  am  proud  of  him." 

Running  over  the  scales  a  few  times,  at  length  he  struck 
up  a  clog  dance,  and  his  little  feet  started  to  rattle  on  the 
boards  like  a  pair  of  Spanish  castanets.  He  kept  perfect 
time  with  his  feet,  twisting  and  turning  in  all  manner  of 
shapes.  The  audience  was  spellbound,  and  nothing  was 
heard  but  the  rattle  of  Jack's  shoes.  He  wound  up  the 
performance  by  turning  a  somersault  without  touching  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  113 

platform  with  his  hands.  The  audience  went  wild  at  this 
unusual  exhibition.  The  widow  went  crazy  and  jumped 
upon  the  platform,  embracing  Jack  and  smothering  him 
with  her  kisses.  Finally  she  grabbed  his  cap  and  went 
among  her  tribe,  exhorting  them  to  contribute  without 
stint. 

She  evidently  thought  that  the  more  that  was  contrib- 
uted the  more  Jack  would  dance.  When  she  turned  the 
proceeds  over  to  him  he  thanked  them  all;  at  the  same 
time  he  kept  a  wary  eye  upon  the  widow. 

After  resting  for  a  little  the  crowd  began  shouting  for 
another  dance.  Newcomers  were  continually  arriving 
until  the  tent  could  hold  no  more.  The  atmosphere  was 
stifling,  causing  me  to  feel  faint.  I  tried  to  get  outside, 
but  it  was  impossible  to  move.  Jack  had  started  another 
dance,  which  I  could  not  see,  but  could  hear  the  rattle  of 
his  shoes,  and  was  mighty  glad  when  he  finished.  At 
length  I  was  enabled  to  escape  the  overpowering  stench, 
and  made  my  escape  to  the  outside,  where  God's  pure  air 
was  never  more  appreciated  than  it  was  at  that  moment. 
Swanson  and  the  manager,  after  some  little  trouble,  res- 
cued Jack,  who  was  the  victim  of  another  buxom  lady. 
When  he  was  brought  outside,  the  poor  boy  was  completely 
exhausted,  and  could  only  feebly  shake  my  hand,  being 
utterly  unable  to  speak.  Swanson  had  Jack's  cap  full  of 
silver,  and  the  manager  had  his  arms  full  of  beer  bottles, 
while  the  widow  had  a  basket  of  sandwiches.  We  all 
squatted  down  and  had  a  most  enjoyable  feast. 

After  the  lunch  was  eaten  Swanson  ordered  me  to  fetch 
the  flag  from  the  boat,  while  the  manager  counted  Jack's 
wealth,  amounting  to  fifty  Norwegian  dollars.  The  money 
was  tied  up  in  the  flag,  and  we  all  said  good-bye.  As 
there  was  no  wind,  Swanson  and  I  took  the  oars  with  Jack 
at  the  tiller  and  off  we  went  to  the  old  Forsette. 

At   4   o'clock   next   morning   the   watchman    reported 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

to  Swanson  that  some  vessels  were  entering  the  harbour. 
They  proved  to  be  King  Oscar's  yacht,  Kong  Ring  and 
Lord  R.'s  Ocean  Spray,  entering  at  the  same  time. 
Swanson  cast  his  eagle  eye  fore  and  aft,  alow  and  aloft, 
seemingly  disgusted  with  things  in  general.  He  ordered 
the  watchman  to  rouse  us,  and  the  cook  to  have  coffee 
ready  for  the  men  at  once,  as  he  wanted  to  wash  decks  and 
the  royal  yards  sent  down  before  breakfast,  because  the 
old  ship  was  getting  top  heavy,  and  it  would  be  necessary 
to  take  on  ballast  before  the  remainder  of  the  coal  could 
be  discharged  with  safety. 

The  men  grumbled,  some  on  account  of  being  roused  so 
early  to  wash  down.  "  Just  fancy,  washing  down  a  rotten 
old  collier  like  this!  It's  worse  than  a  Yankee  slave 
packet.  They  won't  even  give  us  a  crown  to  go  ashore 
and  see  what's  doing  at  the  camp.  They  are  afraid  we 
would  run  away.  Run  away !  and  in  a  place  where  there 
is  nothing  but  rocks,  which  no  one  can  eat.  Even  the 
rocks  are  preferable  to  what  that  hyena  in  the  galley  calls 
soft-tack."  One  of  the  speakers  took  a  loaf  of  stale  bread 
and  threw  it  at  the  bulkhead,  behind  which  the  cook  was 
taking  an  early  morning  smoke.  The  clay  pipe  dropped 
from  the  cook's  mouth  and  out  he  ran  on  the  deck,  shout- 
ing, "  What  in  II —  are  these  galoots  up  to  now.  Firing  a 
royal  salute,  or  are  they  gone  crazy  ?  " 

Coming  aft,  I  found  Swanson  explaining  to  Jack  the 
fine  points  of  the  king's  yacht,  which  was  in  the  lead  and 
approaching  slowly.  Although  it  was  only  a  little  after 
4  o'clock,  the  sun  was  up,  and  everything  looked  beautiful. 
The  ensign  was  run  up  and  dipped  as  they  passed  under 
our  stern.  King  Oscar  was  on  the  bridge,  a  tall  dis- 
tinguished looking  man,  every  inch  a  king. 

"  Take  off  your  caps,"  said  Swanson,  when  the  yacht 
was  closest,  "  and  shout,  '  Long  live  King  Oscar.' '  The 
king  raised  his  hat  to  us  in  acknowledgment  of  our  salute. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  115 

Swanson  turned  round  and  found  the  cook  with  his  pipe 
in  his  mouth,  cap  on  back  of  head,  and  arms  folded  across 
his  chest  in  a  very  defiant  and  insulting  attitude.  Walk- 
ing up  to  the  cook,  Swanson  demanded  to  know  why  he 
had  not  taken  off  his  cap  as  we  did. 

"  I  have  no  use  for  the  likes  of  them.  They  are  no 
good  to  you  or  me,"  replied  the  cook. 

"  If  it  was  not  for  your  grey  hairs,  you  old  pirate,  I 
would  wring  your  —  neck,"  yelled  Swanson.  "  Get 
out  of  my  sight  before  I  do  it  anyway." 

The  cook  hurried  off  as  fast  as  his  old  legs  would 
allow  him,  muttering  something  about  a  terrible  temper. 

We  were  greatly  disappointed  when  the  yachts  did  not 
stop  at  Grotto,  but  went  on  to  the  Laplanders'  camp. 
Our  friend  the  manager  came  off  on  a  small  boat  to 
inform  us  that  the  yachts  would  be  back  later  in  the  day, 
that  they  had  only  gone  to  inspect  the  camp.  He  wanted 
Swanson  to  come  along  with  him,  as  he  had  to  interview 
the  captains  regarding  the  amount  of  coal  required. 
Captain  Bengston  was  not  on  board,  and  Swanson  did  not 
like  to  leave  the  ship  during  the  captain's  absence,  but 
after  some  persuasion  he  consented  to  accompany  the  man- 
ager and  left  Ericson  in  charge,  giving  him  a  lot  of  in- 
structions, the  principal  one  being  that  should  the  king's 
yacht  come  up  from  camp,  the  men  must  all  be  assembled 
on  the  fo'cs'le  head  and  shout,  "  Long  live  the  king,"  until 
the  mountains  shook  with  the  echo,  and  if  any  one  did 
not  bare  his  head  he  was  to  be  knocked  down  and  out,  if 
possible. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  said  the  mate.  "  It  will  be  carried  out 
to  the  letter.  I  can  always  do  finer  work  when  I  have 
no  one  to  interfere  with  me,  and  you  can  depend  on  it 
that  I  will  handle  this  crowd."  Ericson  then  ordered 
"  turn  to  "  in  a  louder  tone  than  usual,  at  the  same  time 
giving  them  a  fair  warning  if  they  did  not  get  a  move  on 


116  YANKEE    SWANSON 

themselves.  He  announced  that  Mr.  Swanson  was  going 
away  for  the  day,  and  a  certain  amount  of  work  had  to 
be  done  and  the  quicker  it  was  done  the  better.  He  said 
he  would  do  as  much  as  anybody  else.  "  But."  he  con- 
tinued, "  I  am  as  hard-fisted  as  I  am  soft-hearted,  and 
if  there  is  any  loafing  or  hanging  back,  it  will  be  bad 
business."  "  Ah,  give  us  a  rest,"  said  the  fellow  with 
the  swollen  jaw.  "  Bye  and  bye,"  said  Ericson,  "  wash 
down." 

Swanson  came  on  deck  all  togged  up  and  took  a  glance 
at  the  gang  washing  the  poop-deck.  He  said  something 
to  Ericson  about  them  not  killing  themselves  in  the  mat- 
ter of  work.  Ericson  allowed  it  would  go  swifter  after 
a  little.  "  All  right,  do  your  best  toward  getting  the  dust 
off  her  in  case  we  should  have  visitors  from  the  fancy 
craft  when  they  return."  "  Don't  worry,  Swanson,  it 
will  be  done,  or  my  name  ain't  Ericson." 

Swanson  shouted  to  Jack  to  have  the  cabin  windows 
shining  like  a  new  Norwegian  dollar,  as  the  widow  would 
be  sure  to  visit  us  one  of  these  days. 

Swanson  being  safely  out  of  hearing,  Ericson  went  up 
to  the  fellow  who  had  said,  "  Ah,  give  us  a  rest."  "  Here, 
you  said  something  about  giving  you  a  rest."  "  That's 
what  I  said,"  mumbled  the  fellow.  "  All  right,  I  will 
give  you  a  rest,  and  that  just  now."  And  with  that  he 
hit  him  a  fearful  blow  on  the  healthy  side  of  his  face, 
dropping  him  like  a  log.  Ericson  picked  him  up  as  if  he 
had  been  a  baby  and  threw  him  bodily  into  the  sea.  The 
fellow  tried  to  get  hold  of  the  fenders  on  the  ship's  side, 
but  Ericson  was  brandishing  a  four-by-four  scantling  over 
his  head,  and  swore  by  all  that  was  holy  to  brain  him  if  he 
came  up  the  side.  Letting  go  the  fender,  he  swam  to  the 
boat  that  was  hanging  under  the  stern  and  scrambled  in. 
"  Well,  boys,  it  is  too  bad  we  are  a  man  short,  but  we  will 
have  to  make  up  for  it.  That  fellow  is  having  the  rest 


YANKEE    SWANSON  117 

he  asked  for.  I  hope  no  one  else  needs  a  rest.  If  he  does 
just  let  him  ask  for  it." 

This  was  a  master  stroke  on  Ericson's  part.  Never 
have  I  seen  a  collier's  deck  cleaned  so  thoroughly  as  the 
Forsette's  was.  After  the  deck  was  finished  the  sailors 
wiped  down  the  paint  work.  Ericson  then  ordered  Axel 
and  me  to  reeve  off  the  gantlines  for  sending  down  the 
royal  yards,  and  to  get  everything  ready  up  there  so  that 
it  would  take  only  a  few  minutes  to  lower  the  yards. 

I  had  never  hefore  sent  down  a  royal  yard,  but  knew 
how  to  do  it,  as  Swanson  had  drilled  it  into  me  many 
times  when  at  sea.  It  was  therefore  a  certainty  that 
things  would  be  all  right  by  the  time  the  men  were  through 
on  deck.  There  is  a  fascination  about  sending  up  or 
down  the  royal  yards  for  every  young  sailor,  and  then 
there  is  always  the  pride  in  being  able  to  do  the  job  and 
do  it  quickly. 

Spar  drill  in  the  navy  is  always  a  pleasure  to  watch.  I 
remember  once  in  Montevideo  seeing  a  lot  of  warships  of 
many  different  nations,  at  spar  drill.  We  of  the  mer- 
chant marine  took  a  keen  delight  in  observing  the  contest, 
but  the  Yankees  were  always  first,  beating  all  others  every 
time. 

There  I  was  with  the  gantlines,  four  inch  rope.  It  was 
pretty  heavy  when  I  got  it  in  the  crosstree,  where  I  be- 
layed it  for  the  time  being.  Looking  over  the  maintop, 
I  saw  that  Axel  had  his  gantline  foul  of  the  topsail  hal- 
yards. At  first  I  thought  of  calling  his  attention  to  it, 
but  seeing  that  Ericson  was  watching  us,  he  might  decide 
to  give  me  a  rest  cure  also.  I  unshackled  the  royal 
halyards  on  the  yard,  and  unrove  it  by  bending  a  small 
gasket  in  the  shackle.  When  that  was  done,  I  belayed  the 
halyards  in  the  crosstree,  and  by  means  of  the  gasket  I 
rove  off  the  gantline,  which  was  my  first  lesson  in  sending 
down  a  royal  yard.  The  sail  being  bent  and  furled  on 


118  YANKEE    SWANSON 

the  yard,  I  slacked  up  the  gaskets  and  restowed  snug  as 
possible.  I  then  bent  the  gantline  on  the  yard  by  drop- 
ping the  end  of  the  gantline  on  the  fore  part  of  the  yard, 
brought  the  end  up  again  on  the  after  part,  and  took  a 
full  round  turn  with  it.  The  end  was  then  brought  across 
the  standing  part  of  the  gantline  and  belayed  well  on  the 
other  yardarm  by  taking  a  round  turn  and  half  hitching 
the  end.  I  now  went  out  and  took  off  the  mousing  as  on 
the  brace  hooks.  Ericson,  seeing  me  do  this,  sang  out  to 
me  to  unhook  them  at  once  and  rehook  them  on  the  cross- 
tree.  Having  no  further  use  for  the  foot  ropes,  I  unbent 
them  and  stretched  them  along  the  yard.  The  unparallel- 
ing  of  the  yard  was  a  matter  of  no  moment.  I  simply 
had  to  take  out  a  small  forelock,  which  I  did  with  a  mar- 
line-spike. All  that  remained  to  be  done  was  to  climb  up 
on  the  masthead  and  start  the  seizing  on  the  lifts. 
Everything  was  then  ready  for  the  men  to  sway  away  on 
the  gantlines  so  that  the  seizing  on  the  lift  could  be  taken 
off  altogether. 

Going  down  the  crosstree,  I  sang  out,  "  All  right," 
and  waited  developments.  Axel  had  not  been  heard  from 
as  yet,  but  really  nothing  seemed  to  have  been  done  by 
him.  The  men  were  putting  away  their  buckets  and 
brooms,  so  I  knew  something  would  be  doing  soon.  The 
cook  came  out  and  cast  his  evil  eye  aloft  first  on  one  top 
and  then  on  the  other.  If  any  remarks  were  passed  I  did 
not  hear  them.  The  fellow  who  had  asked  for  a  rest  was 
very  comfortable  or  else  dead.  There  was  no  movement 
to  be  detected  as  he  lay  stretched  on  the  bottom  of  the 
boat.  Everything  was  grand  and  peaceful  from  my  ele- 
vated position,  and  I  was  enjoying  myself  immensely.  I 
could  see  the  yachts  and  numerous  other  craft  containing 
visitors. 

At  last  Ericson  sang  out,  "  Away  on  the  foretop 
gantline."  "  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  and  up  I  went  to  the  masthead, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  119 

casting  the  seizing  adrift  in  a  jiffy,  and  sang  out  "  Lower 
away."  As  the  yard  cockbilled,  I  shouted,  "  Vast  low- 
ering," while  I  seized  the  upper  yardarm  to  the  gantline; 
then,  "  Lower  away,"  "  All  clear,"  and  down  I  went  on 
the  gallant  backstay. 

The  men  took  the  yard  and  stood  it  up  in  the  fore  rig- 
ging and  secured  it.  "  Well  done,"  said  Ericson. 
"  Look  at  that  fool  on  the  main.  God  only  knows  what 
will  become  of  him  if  he  ever  gets  down  here  alive.  Run 
up  and  show  that  flathead  how  to  send  down-  a  royal  yard, 
otherwise  it  will  be  dinner  time  before  we  are  through 
with  the  job.  We  need  a  little  rest  as  well  as  that  fellow 
in  the  boat." 

When  we  came  on  deck,  Ericson  sang  out,  "  Breakfast 
all."  After  a  moment  he  said,  "  Except  Axel.  He'll  get 
his  to-night."  He  gave  Axel  some  grease  and  brickdust, 
telling  him  to  clean  up  some  old  copper  plate,  and  when 
that  was  done  to  scrub  out  the  pigpen.  The  rest  of  us 
were  to  have  the  day  to  ourselves,  except  when  the  king 
and  lord  came  back,  when  we  were  to  go  on  the  fo'cs'le 
head  and  shout  for  them.  The  fellow  who  was  resting 
was  not  to  be  disturbed  until  the  king  arrived  and  then  he 
would  have  to  shout  as  loud  as  the  rest  of  us. 

I  went  to  the  galley  to  fetch  the  grub.  The  cook  was 
there  smoking.  He  asked  me  how  I  liked  the  mate. 
"  Pretty  hard-fisted,  ain't  he  ?  "  he  said.  "  He  sure  is  a 
dandy  on  the  resting  business,  ^ever  saw  sailonnen 
worked  as  hard  in  my  life.  He's  got  Swanson  skinned 
ten  miles,  both  for  work  and  resting;  never  thought  it 
was  in  him,  he  looks  so  peaceful-like.  That's  the  worst 
with  these  soft-hearted  men,  when  they  break  loose  they 
are  worse  than  the  devil."  I  took  the  grub  to  the  fo'cs'le, 
where  I  found  the  men  waiting  for  me.  They  asked  what 
I  had  brought.  I  answered,  "  Coffee  and  cracker  hash." 

One  fellow  said  that  was  not  worth  while  getting  up 


120  YANKEE    SWANSON 

for.  "  In  the  last  packet  I  was  in  we  got  apple  pie  on 
Sunday  and  a  glass  of  grog  after  the  decks  were  washed 
down.  This  is  the  limit." 

"  I  understand  the  cook  wants  to  meet  the  lord,  too," 
said  another.  "  He  used  to  be  chief  cook  to  the  lord's 
grandmother,  and  came  near  marrying  her.  That's  what 
he  told  Jack  a  few  days  ago." 

"  You  can't  believe  that  cook,"  said  the  first.  "  I  wish 
Swanson  had  dumped  him  this  morning.  It  would  have 
been  a  good  riddance.  I  am  sick  of  Ericson.  Just  look 
at  what  he  has  done  to  poor  Nils.  The  last  I  saw  of  Nils 
he  was  lying  like  a  flapjack  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat." 

After  breakfast  a  boat  arrived  with  the  mails  from 
Bodo.  Ericson  distributed  them,  and  I  got  no  less  than 
six  letters  from  home.  Swanson  received  several  with 
the  Grangemouth  stamp  on  them.  Finding  a  comfortable 
nook  under  the  long-boat  I  read  my  mother's  letter  first. 
It  was  the  usual  motherly  letter.  She  said  she  had  been 
informed  that  Swanson  was  a  terrible  man,  fearing  neither 
God  nor  the  devil.  She  also  cautioned  me  to  keep  my 
catechism  on  all  occasions,  so  that  I  would  not  be  behind 
the  other  children  and  fail  when  I  went  to  my  first  com- 
munion. Then  she  went  on  to  tell  about  my  pigeons,  and 
the  great  care  grandpa  took  of  them.  The  dog,  Blucher, 
had  chased  them  one  day  when  the  old  gent  was  feeding 
them,  and  he  had  given  Blucher  a  scolding.  The  dog 
had  not  been  the  same  since,  evidently  taking  the  matter 
very  much  to  heart.  She  said  that  brother  Nils  was  well 
satisfied  with  his  new  position,  having  written  so  from 
Liverpool.  The  letter  wound  up  by  telling  me  to  be  care- 
ful when  up  on  the  mast,  not  to  fall  down  and  break  any 
bones. 

My  father's  letter  was  in  a  similar  strain.  Crops 
looked  promising,  and  plenty  of  foreigners  circulating 
money. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  121 

My  sisters  wanted  information  regarding  the  looks  and 
clothes  of  the  young  girls  in  Scotland,  and  if  the  Scottish 
girls  were  as  pretty  as  the  girls  at  home.  I  thought, 
"  Just  wait  until  I  describe  Betsey  Duncan,  and  then  you 
will  open  your  eyes." 

Grandpa's  letter  was  the  last,  as  I  knew  it  would  he 
the  most  interesting  of  all.  The  old  man  began  with  the 
tools,  saying  that  they  were  next  to  useless,  as  I  was  not 
there  to  turn  the  grindstone.  "  Ernest  does  the  best  he 
can,  but  he  does  not  know  how  to  handle  the  stone.  He 
blames  it  on  me,  saying  I  press  harder  on  the  stone  now 
than  I  did  when  you  were  at  home.  There  is  no  sense 
in  that,  as  I  am  getting  feebler  every  day.  You  remem- 
ber the  old  dog,  Blucher.  He  is  almost  as  bad  as  his 
namesake,  who  did  us  so  much  damage  after  Moscow. 
Yesterday  I  was  feeding  the  pigeons  in  the  yard,  and  he 
was  lying  down  watching  me  with  his  nose  between  his 
paws,  when  suddenly  he  jumps  up  and  snaps  at  them  and 
bit  me  in  the  hand.  I  grabbed  at  him,  but  he  got  away 
from  me.  You  know  that  I  was  ninety  my  last  birthday. 
He  would  not  stop  running  when  I  called  him.  Then 
he  jumped  the  fence,  and  as  I  came  after  him  a  rock  fell 
down  on  my  right  foot,  crushing  the  top  of  my  wooden 
shoe.  I  then  took  off  my  shoes  and  went  after  him  again. 
The  rascal  started  to  whine,  and  when  I  called  to  him  he 
came  only  too  gladly,  as  he  was  tired  out.  I  did  not  whip 
him,  for  he  is  getting  old  too,  and  has  been  a  good  dog  in 
his  day.  The  only  way  I  punished  him  was  this :  he  had 
no  supper,  which  made  him  feel  very  bad.  Your  mother 
is  worried  a  bit  because  your  mate  has  a  hard  name.  I 
told  her  to  quit  that,  as  the  l  Harder  the  better '  was  our 
rule  in  the  army.  "When  I  served  under  Marshal  Davoust 
he  had  an  awful  name,  but  I  found  him  to  be  the  best 
of  the  whole  lot,  except  the  Little  Corporal  himself.  These 
hard  fellows  are  all  right  for  those  that  are  willing  to  do 


122  YANKEE    SWANSON 

what  is  right,  but  a  martinet  for  the  lazy  ones.  Next 
time  tell  me  all  about  this  fellow  Swanson.  They  say 
that  he  almost  murdered  a  fellow  in  Grangemouth.  Well, 
good-bye,  and  don't  lose  the  snuff  box  or  the  gold  piece. 
Your  grandpa,  Nils  Hanson." 

Jack,  who  had  finished  his  cabin,  was  anxiously  waiting 
for  me  to  finish  my  correspondence,  to  have  a  social  chat 
in  English.  It  was  Swedish  and  English  on  alternate 
days  now.  I  could  not  break  away  from  grandpa's  let- 
ter, laughing  and  crying  over  it.  And  old  Blucher ;  poor 
dog,  he  must  have  been  jealous.  I  was  glad  he  did  not 
beat  him. 

Now  and  again  Jack  would  rattle  his  shoes,  and  blow 
a  few  notes  on  his  whistle,  to  attract  my  attention,  but  it 
was  no  use.  Grandpa's  letter  was  more  fun  to  me.  At 
last  Jack  came  over  and  sat  beside  me.  He  wanted  to 
know  what  I  was  laughing  at.  When  I  told  him  it  was 
grandpa's  letter  he  insisted  on  sharing  the  fun  with  me, 
which  caused  him  to  laugh  as  heartily  as  I  did.  I  had 
told  Jack  a  great  deal  about  my  home  life  previously,  and 
now  after  this  letter  he  expressed  a  desire  to  see  the  old 
man,  a  real  Napoleonic  hero  that  could  chase  dogs  over 
fences  at  the  age  of  ninety.  It  was  no  wonder  that 
Napoleon  won  his  victories.  Jack  then  made  up  his  mind 
to  stay  by  the  old  Forsette  until  she  returned  to  Sweden 
in  the  fall. 

That  afternoon  Jack  and  I  laid  under  the  boat,  building 
air  castles.  I  told  Jack  that  if  he  would  only  turn  the 
grindstone  lively  for  the  old  man  to  sharpen  his  tools 
that  he  would  win  favour  with  him,  not  but  that  his  na- 
tionality would  have  some  influence  too.  This  conver- 
sation took  firm  hold  of  Jack  and  he  was  more  determined 
than  ever  to  speak  Swedish.  He  was  a  bright  scholar  and 
already  could  understand  all  that  was  said  in  Swedish. 

Jack  asked  if  Blucher  was  very  old.     I  told  him  that  he 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

was  about  the  same  age  as  I  was,  as  he  had  been  in  the 
family  since  I  could  remember.  "  In  that  case  he  can't 
live  very  long,  and  I  would  like  to  bring  him  another 
dog,"  said  Jack.  "  Wellington "  was  suggested  for  a 
name  for  the  dog,  but  when  told  that  it  would  not  be 
agreeable  to  the  old  man  he  changed  it  to  "Nap." 

"  You  remember  that  pretty  white  dog  at  whom  the  cook 
epat  after  kissing  the  widow.  He  forgave  the  cook,  be- 
cause he  knew  he  had  to  spit  after  kissing  the  widow." 

"  Are  you  going  to  let  her  kiss  you  to  pay  for  the  dog  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no.  I  will  give  her  a  clog  dance,  one  of  the 
lively  ones,  that  will  fetch  the  dog  and  a  reindeer  calf 
into  the  bargain." 

"  We'll  see  what  Swanson  thinks  about  the  scheme.  If 
the  widow  does  not  part  with  the  dog  he  can  get  one  of 
those  white  pointed-nose  fellows  from  the  manager." 

"  They  are  not  as  pretty  as  the  widow's  dog,  and  besides, 
I  figure  on  getting  a  reindeer  calf.  It  will  make  the  cook 
green  with  envy.  He  is  jealous  now  as  it  is.  Somebody 
told  him  she  kissed  me  last  night." 

It  must  have  been  Axel  who  told  the  cook,  as  he  was 
at  the  gangway  when  the  manager  joshed  Jack  in  the 
morning. 

"  Look  at  Axel  now,"  said  Jack.  "  There  is  Ericson 
finding  fault  with  the  cleanliness  of  the  pigsty.  Ericson 
is  a  bad  man.  Swanson  would  not  be  so  hard  as  that, 
anyhow  on  Sunday." 

"  You  wait  and  see  what  Swanson  will  do  to  him  after 
he  has  read  his  wife's  letter  and  finds  out  that  Axel  wrote 
home  and  told  his  mother  that  Swanson  almost  killed  a 
man  in  Grangemouth ;  and  that  Miss  Duncan  and  I  licked 
the  cook  and  made  him  blind  in  one  eye." 

"  Did  he  say  that  ?  " 

"  My  mother  told  me  so  in  her  letter,  and  she  has  been 
crying  about  it  ever  since." 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

<e  Swanson  will  kill  him.  Don't  you  think  we  should 
tell  Axel  before  Swanson  gets  back,  so  that  he  can  run 
away,  jump  overboard  or  do  something?" 

Axel  then  appeared,  Ericson  having  let  him  off,  after 
all.  As  he  was  passing  us  I  called  him  and  told  him  the 
contents  of  my  letters.  At  first  he  was  dazed  and  did  not 
seem  to  realise  the  enormity  of  his  tale-bearing  propensity. 
Jack  began  to  whimper  and  threw  his  arms  around  Axel's 
neck,  sobbing  out  the  terrible  fate  awaiting  him  when 
Swanson  read  his  letters. 

Axel  admitted  giving  his  mother  the  news,  but  did  not 
think  of  any  possible  harm  coming  out  of  it,  never  ex- 
pecting his  mother  to  tell  the  news  to  everybody  in  the 
village. 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  do,"  said  Axel.  "  Swanson 
does  not  like  me  the  same  as  he  does  you.  This  morning 
the  cook  told  me  that  Swanson  was  a  murderer,  and  the 
reason  he  came  back  to  Sweden  was  because  a  price  was 
set  upon  his  head  in  America,  and  that  if  they  caught  him 
he  would  be  hanged." 

I  told  Axel  that  it  was  a  lie,  and  the  cook  would  have 
to  suffer  for  making  such  a  statement.  Axel  was  terror- 
stricken  and  afraid  to  meet  Swanson.  Jack  at  this  mo- 
ment struck  up  a  clog  dance  on  the  harmonica,  and  started 
to  rattle  his  shoes.  This  caused  us  to  laugh  and  the  spirit 
of  mischief  to  enter  Jack,  who  had  observed  the  cook  at 
the  galley  door  with  a  grin  on  his  face.  The  cook  made 
some  slurring  remark  about  "  Crazy  French  kids " — 
Jack  ran  up  to  the  door,  and  turned  a  somersault.  In  do- 
ing so,  one  of  his  shoes  flew  off  his  foot,  missing  the  cook's 
face,  but  landing  in  a  kettle  of  boiling  water,  which 
caused  some  splashes  to  land  on  the  cook's  hands  and  feet. 
The  cook  howled  loud  enough  to  wake  the  dead,  picked  up 
his  poker,  raced  Jack  round  and  round  the  decks,  with 
Jack  always  in  the  lead,  turning  somersaults  and  dancing. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  125 

Axel  and  I  were  laughing  when  Ericson  came  out  of  his 
cabin,  where  he  had  been  reading  his  mail.  He  joined  in 
the  chase  and  captured  the  cook  by  the  collar,  demanding 
to  know  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  Jack  told  the  story,  but 
the  cook  wanted  to  explain.  Ericson  told  him  to  shut  up, 
as  he  could  not  tell  the  truth  if  his  life  depended  on  his 
doing  so. 

"  I  want  you  to  understand  that  for  the  present  I  am 
master  of  this  craft,"  said  Ericson.  "  A  little  warm, 
water  on  your  hands  and  feet  will  only  take  dirt  off  of 
them.  If  I  was  permanent  master  I  would  see  that  you 
used  plenty  of  it  and  often.  Get  into  your  doghouse,  and 
let  the  boys  alone." 

The  cook  withdrew  in  a  surly  mood,  and  Jack  sat  down 
by  me,  enquiring  how  I  liked  his  imitation.  Not  com- 
prehending what  he  meant  I  asked  for  an  explanation. 
He  said  he  was  giving  an  imitation  of  grandpa  and 
Blucher,  the  somersaults  representing  Blucher  taking  the 
fences  and  ditches. 

The  whole  thing  was  so  ridiculous  that  it  made  me 
laugh  so  that  my  sides  ached.  After  a  time  the  three  of 
us  met  again  to  consult  over  plans  for  Axel's  future. 
Jack  said  he  had  talked  with  Swanson  that  morning  re- 
garding the  money  he  had  and  told  him  that  half  of  it 
belonged  to  me.  It  was  not  Jack's  fault  that  I  had  not 
danced,  as  Swanson  wanted  Jack  only.  The  other  half  he 
was  going  to  buy  clothes  with,  unless  Mr.  Swanson  wanted 
it.  This  brought  tears  to  Swanson's  eyes,  who  said  that 
he  only  wanted  to  know  if  his  heart  was  in  the  right 
place,  and  squeezed  his  hand  until  the  tears  came. 

"  It's  like  this,  Andrew,"  Jack  said.  "  You  will  have 
to  part  with  your  money  for  Axel's  sake.  I  would  give 
mine,  but  what  would  I  say  if  Swanson  asked  me  for  it 
so  that  he  could  take  care  of  it  until  we  got  to  England. 
T  would  have  to  tell  a  lie,  and  I  don't  like  to  do  that. 


126  YANKEE    SWANSON 

If  the  worse  comes  to  worst  we  can  make  a  clean  breast 
of  it  and  I  will  settle  with  you  when  we  get  to  Archangel 
or  England." 

I  could  hardly  reply  to  the  little  fellow,  but  at  length 
told  him  it  was  a  good  scheme.  He  jumped  up  and  em- 
braced me  and  then  Axel.  He  rattled  his  only  shoe,  the 
cook  refusing  to  give  up  the  other,  as  he  required  it  as 
evidence  for  Swanson. 

Twenty-five  dollars  would  be  sufficient  to  take  Axel 
home,  ten  for  steerage  ticket  and  fifteen  for  expenses. 
The  steamer  left  every  Saturday  from  Bodo,  and  it  was 
no  trick  to  get  to  Bodo.  Axel  was  overcome  by  the  boy's 
generosity,  although  in  the  past  he  had  done  him  every 
nasty  trick  that  he  could  think  of.  Jack  informed  Axel 
that  he  would  bring  the  money  after  dinner,  as  he  was 
afraid  Ericson  would  hear  him  handling  the  money  and 
think  something  was  wrong. 

I  went  to  the  galley  for  the  grub  and  asked  the  cook  if 
I  had  to  save  any  food  for  the  fellow  in  the  boat,  or  if  he 
was  going  to  save  any.  He  told  me  to  find  out  from  the 
second  mate,  who  had  the  swelled  head  because  the  old 
man  and  the  mate  were  not  on  board.  He  muttered, 
"  That  old  square-headed  elephant  would  have  trouble 
putting  his  hat  on  without  a  shoe-horn." 

I  went  aft  to  see  Ericson  and  get  instructions  regard- 
ing the  man  in  the  boat.  He  had  just  finished  dinner 
and  was  filling  his  pipe.  Stating  the  case  to  him,  he 
pondered  whether  the  man  should  have  anything  to  eat 
or  not.  "  All  right,  let  him  come  up.  I  don't  think  he 
will  eat  much.  Tell  Axel  to  relieve  the  man  after  he  has 
had  his  own  dinner,  and  to  keep  a  good  look  out  for  the 
yachts.  Let  me  know  when  they  are  coming,  as  I  am 
going  to  have  a  nap." 

Jack,  overhearing  the  conversation,  got  the  money  and 
brought  it  to  Axel,  who  thought  it  would  be  a  good  time 


YANKEE    SWANSON  127 

to  get  away.  I  told  Axel  of  the  mate's  orders  and  Jack 
went  with  him  to  haul  the  boat  to  the  gangway.  The 
fellow  who  had  been  in  the  boat  all  day  did  not  seem  the 
worse  for  his  bath  or  the  beating  he  received.  He  thought 
it  was  a  great  joke  to  get  out  of  hard  work  as  easy  as  that. 

His  eating  power  had  improved  some,  but  probably  it 
was  due  to  the  fact  of  his  not  having  any  food  for  so  long. 
Axel  got  into  the  boat  and  Jack  dropped  it  astern,  making 
the  painter  fast  as  before.  Then  we  all  prepared  for  a 
good  long  nap,  as  it  was  Sunday. 

Late  that  afternoon  we  were  aroused  by  Ericson  an- 
nouncing that  the  boat  had  been  stolen  and  that  Axel 
had  run  away.  Also,  the  yachts  were  coming  down  the 
fjord  full  pelt.  Swanson  would  sure  raise  a  row  if  he 
was  in  the  neighbourhood.  "  Stand  by,  all  of  you," 
roared  the  now  half-crazy  Ericson.  "  Get  up  on  the 
fo'cs'le  head  and  start  in  to  practise.  Now  then,  one,  two, 

three  —  why  in  h don't  you  holler?     Here,  you  get 

up  on  the  t'gallant  yard,  and  if  you  don't  yell,  I'll  pull 
you  down."  He  tied  a  rope  around  the  leg  of  the  fellow 
and  sent  him  aloft  with  orders  to  yell  until  his  head 
came  off. 

The  fellow  took  precautions  to  tie  himself  to  the  yard, 
so  that  if  Ericson  pulled  he  would  have  to  pull  the  mast 
down  too.  Jack  was  sent  aft  with  orders  to  dip  the  ensign 
when  the  yachts  passed  by  our  stern.  The  cook  was  de- 
tailed to  regulate  the  shouting  by  counting  "  One,  two, 
three,  long  live  the  King  and  Lord  R.,"  every  thirty  sec- 
onds. At  first  the  cook  was  to  manage  the  rope  attached 
to  the  fellow  aloft,  but  the  cook  did  not  seem  to  like  the 
job,  so  he  took  it  himself.  This  was  a  foolish  move  on 
Ericson's  part,  as  he  had  had  ample  revenge  on  the  poor 
fellow. 

The  yachts  were  still  some  distance  off.  Ericson  let 
the  fellow  know  that  he  was  still  on  the  job  by  giving  an 


128  YANKEE    SWANSON 

extra  hard  pull  or  two.  The  fellow  let  out  a  most  un- 
godly howl,  as  if  his  neck  was  broken. 

"  Aha !  It  hurts,"  said  Ericson.  "  There  will  be  no 
trouble  with  you,  my  man.  Remember,  it's  noise  we 
want." 

The  yachts  were  now  pretty  close  in,  and  word  was 
passed  to  the  cook  to  begin  the  shouting,  which  was  done ; 
but  not  a  blessed  word  from  the  masthead.  Ericson  was 
fuming.  He  jumped  up  on  the  top  of  the  house  and 
bracing  his  feet  against  the  mast,  he  pulled  with  all  his 
might,  at  the  same  time  telling  the  cook  to  keep  up  the 
shouting.  The  king's  yacht  was  very  near,  with  the  king 
on  the  bridge.  Lord  R.  was  on  his  also.  Both  of  them 
raised  their  hats  in  recognition  of  our  lusty  shouting. 
Ericson  almost  pulled  his  arms  off  trying  to  get  something, 
man  or  noise,  which  was  the  last  he  remembered  for 
some  hours  after.  It  seems  that  the  fellow  aloft,  when 
he  saw  what  Ericson  was  up  to,  reached  down  and  cut 
the  rope  which  had  Ericson's  whole  weight  on  it,  and 
Ericson  turned  a  back  somersault,  landing  on  the  deck, 
and  striking  his  head  on  an  iron  bar  rendering  him  uncon- 
scious. The  fellow  aloft  then  started  to  make  up  for 
lost  time  by  yelling  long  after  every  one  else  had  knocked 
off. 

The  cook  then  assumed  command  when  he  saw  that 
Ericson  was  out  of  commission,  by  ordering  him  to  shut 
up.  "  It's  all  over,"  said  the  cook.  "  ~Not  by  a  good 
deal,"  shouted  the  fellow,  "  it  has  only  just  begun.  Long 
live  the  King,  and  the  Lord  help  us  and  Ericson." 

King  Oscar's  yacht  did  not  anchor,  but  the  lord's  did 
a  little  distance  from  the  Forsette.  The  shouting  of  the 
sailor  attracted  the  attention  of  those  on  the  yacht,  who 
lowered  a  boat  and  came  alongside  of  us  to  find  out  the 
cause  of  the  shouting  "  Lord  help  us,  and  Ericson." 
An  officer  in  very  fancy  uniform  came  up  the  gangway, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  129 

and  asked  to  see  the  captain.  "  He  is  not  on  board,"  says 
the  cook,  who  had  gone  to  receive  the  officer.  "  Ah,  well, 
are  you  the  first  officer  ?  "  "  No,  sir.  He  is  on  shore, 
too.  I  am  the  chief  steward  and  cook."  "  Ah,  I  see. 
Is  the  second  officer  on  board  ?  "  "  He  is,  but  he  is  nearly 
dead."  "  I  would  like  to  see  him  if  he  is  well  enough 
to  speak."  "  I  don't  know  about  the  speaking  part.  He 
took  sick  and  fell  down  and  hurt  himself." 

"  Say,  what  is  the  matter  with  that  strange  thing  on 
the  fore  t'gallant  yard?  Is  he  sick  also?" 

"  Not  at  all,  the  healthiest  farmer  in  the  bunch.  He 
took  a  fit  when  the  shouting  commenced,  and  ran  aloft 
like  a  monkey.  We  have  been  trying  to  coax  him  to 
come  down,  but  nothing  will  do  but  a  gatling  gun,  or 
perhaps  a  good  jolt  of  whiskey." 

"  I  wish  he  could  be  brought  down,  as  it  is  very  annoy- 
ing to  his  lordship." 

"  If  you  had  some  whiskey  in  your  pocket  I  might  try 
to  fetch  him  down,  but  it  might  be  hydrophobia.  I  knew 
a  fellow  who  caught  it  by  just  talking  to  another  like 
that." 

"  This  ship  must  be  a  bloody  floating  lunatic  asylum," 
said  the  officer. 

"  It  will  be  shortly  if  we  don't  get  a  drop  of  something 
to  fetch  that  fellow  down." 

"  Have  you  any  idea  what  brought  it  on  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes.  Nothing  but  overfeeding  and  too  much 
rest." 

The  cook  asked  the  officer  if  they  had  a  doctor  on  board, 
and  was  told  that  the  doctor  was  in  Bodo  escorting  some 
ladies  of  their  party. 

"  That's  too  bad,"  sorrowfully  replied  the  cook.  "  We 
have  not  anything  to  fetch  that  galoot  down  with,  so  that 
his  lordship  can  have  some  rest.  It  does  not  matter  to  us, 
as  we  will  soon  get  used  to  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I 


130  YANKEE    SWANSON 

would  rather  have  him  there  than  below,  if  he  has  made 
up  his  mind  to  carry  on  in  that  unchristian  manner  all 
night." 

The  cook  made  a  move  as  if  to  go  to  the  aid  of  the  sec- 
ond mate,  but  turned  round  and  said,  "  Give  my  compli- 
ments to  Lord  R.  and  tell  him  we  are  very  sorry  for 
causing  all  this  annoyance,  and  if  he  could  send  us  a 
bottle  of  whiskey  to  coax  him  down  and  give  him  a  few 
drops  after  to  steady  his  nerves  a  bit,  we  would  be  ever 
so  much  obliged  to  him." 

"  All  right.  I  don't  think  his  lordship  will  have  any 
objections  to  doing  that,  provided  you  make  him  cease 
yelling." 

The  officer  went  away  in  his  boat  and  no  sooner  had 
he  gone  than  the  fellow  ceased  shouting.  He  started  to 
come  down,  but  the  cook  ran  up  the  rigging,  meeting  him 
half  way.  "  Go  back,  you  fool,  and  shout  harder  than 
ever.  You'll  spoil  everything  and  prevent  me  from  get- 
ting a  little  medicine  for  the  second  mate,  whom  you 
have  nearly  killed,  and  will  swing  for  yet.  Go  back  and 
yell.  Your  life  depends  on  it." 

No  argument  on  the  cook's  part  could  induce  the  fel- 
low to  stay,  as  he  said  his  jaws  would  not  stand  for  it. 

"  You  will  be  sorry  for  this,  and  will  have  to  go  to 
jail,"  said  the  cook,  who  went  up  the  mast  and  resumed 
the  yelling.  The  cook  proved  to  be  a  past  master  in  the 
art  of  making  hideous  noises.  Everybody  admitted  that 
the  other  fellow  was  outclassed,  and  the  cook  kept  up  the 
most  horrible  earsplitting  yells  with  the  sole  purpose  of 
hurrying  the  medicine  along.  From  his  elevated  posi- 
tion he  had  a  clear  view  of  the  yacht's  deck.  Not  seeing 
them  making  any  move  to  hurry  up  the  medicine,  or  at 
least  not  quick  enough  to  suit  him,  he  resorted  to  a  move 
that  he  had  every  reason  to  believe  would  bring  forth  the 
desired  result.  Running  out  to  the  extreme  end  of  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  131 

yardarm,  he  took  hold  of  the  lift  with  both  hands,  letting 
his  feet  dangle  as  if  with  the  intention  of  letting  go  at 
any  time.  At  the  same  time  he  produced  the  most  blood- 
curdling yells  that  can  be  imagined.  This  last  move  was 
a  master  piece  of  strategy.  At  once  they  began  falling 
over  each  other  to  get  the  medicine  and  to  prevent  the 
seemingly  desperate  man  from  committing  suicide. 
When  the  boat  left  the  yacht's  side  the  cook  grad- 
nally  worked  in  toward  the  mast,  with  the  idea  of 
getting  down  in  time  to  receive  the  medicine,  well  knowing 
that  if  it  fell  into  anybody  else's  hands  it  was  good-bye 
medicine,  as  far  as  he  was  concerned. 

Keeping  his  eye  on  the  approaching  boat,  he  slid  down 
the  gallant  backstay  like  greased  lightning,  uttering  sev- 
eral howls.  The  supposed  lunatic  was  dangerously  near, 
he  thought.  He  threatened  to  expose  him  if  he  did  not 
run  up  and  down  the  deck  and  give  a  few  more  yells. 
This  little  talk  had  the  desired  effect  on  the  sailor,  who 
made  himself  less  conspicuous,  but  made  enough  noise  so 
that  nobody  but  the  cook  had  a  right  to  find  fault. 

The  small  boat  from  the  yacht  was  now  alongside,  and 
a  sailor  came  up  and  handed  the  cook  two  bottles.  He 
could  hardly  believe  his  own  eyes. 

"  God  bless  the  lord,"  he  said.  "  He  has  the  heart  of 
a  king,  and  the  style  of  an  emperor.  How  well  he  knew 
what  was  wanted.  Two  bottles,  too.  Ah,  I  see,  one  for 
internal,  and  the  other  for  external  use.  I  can  hardly 
find  words  to  express  my  thanks  to  his  lordship.  You 
can  tell  him  I  knew  his  grandmother,  but  that  was  long 
before  the  Crimean  war." 

The  quartermaster  that  brought  the  medicine  enquired 
about  the  lunatic,  and  the  cook  told  him  there  were  signa 
of  improvement  already.  Being  possessed  of  wonderful 
smelling  powrers  he  had  smelled  the  medicine  as  soon  as 
the  boat  left  the  yacht's  side.  He  then  hinted  that  an- 


132  YANKEE    SWANSON 

other  bottle  or  two  next  day  might  be  necessary.  The 
young  man  said  that  they  were  going  away  that  evening 
on  a  whale  hunt  and  would  not  be  back  for  a  couple  of 
days.  This  caused  the  cook  great  anxiety,  as  they  might 
run  shy  of  medicine. 

The  young  man  asked  the  cook  if  he  was  a  Britisher. 
"  Well,  I  should  say  I  am.  I  am  a  veteran  of  the  Crimean 
war,  and  my  father  was  with  Nelson  at  Trafalgar  and 
with  Wellington  at  Waterloo." 

"  Your  father  must  have  been  fond  of  fighting  on  land 
as  well  as  on  sea.  I  am  glad  to  have  made  your  acquaint- 
ance, cook.  His  lordship  will  now  be  at  ease.  He  was 
afraid  that  the  poor  fellow  would  have  let  himself  go 
from  that  fore  t'gallant  yard.  Well,  good-bye." 

After  the  young  man  had  gone  the  cook  wondered  where 
would  be  the  best  place  to  put  the  bottles.  He  was  deter- 
mined that  no  one  should  steal  them  from  him  this  time. 
Besides,  there  was  trouble  enough  on  board  for  one  day. 

The  supposed  lunatic  asked  if  the  medicine  was  not  for 
his  use.  This  roused  the  ire  of  the  cook,  who  told  him 
that  he  did  not  see  any  use  in  wasting  medicine  on  him, 
as  he  was  going  to  be  hung,  drawn,  and  quartered  in  a 
week.  There  were  too  many  eye  witnesses  to  his  hor- 
rible deed.  With  this  information  the  lunatic  threatened 
to  start  the  shouting  afresh,  but  the  cook  said  he  did  not 
care,  as  he  had  made  arrangements  with  his  lordship  to 
shoot  him  from  the  yacht  with  a  Mauser  rifle,  that  being 
the  easiest  way  to  save  the  expense  of  a  tedious  trial,  and 
likewise  funeral  expenses,  as  he  would  naturally  fall  in 
the  water  and  no  one  would  take  the  trouble  to  hunt  for 
his  body. 

This  was  too  much  for  the  sailor,  who  walked  forward 
to  see  how  Ericson  was  getting  along.  They  had  him 
stretched  out  on  an  old  sail,  trying  to  revive  him  by 
pouring  water  on  him  and  rubbing  his  hands  and  feet. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  133 

We  proposed  to  carry  him  back  to  his  bunk,  but  no  one 
would  assist  us,  saying  he  was  better  off  in  the  open  air, 
and  perhaps  he  was.  He  had  a  large  swelling  on  the 
back  of  his  head  and  was  breathing  heavily,  but  still  un- 
conscious. The  cook  was  referred  to  as  the  ship's  sur- 
geon, on  account  of  his  age  and  experience  in  many  seas 
and  other  lands.  Every  one  was  more  or  less  sorry  for 
Ericson,  yet  said  he  deserved  it.  They  were  all  from 
the  same  place  (Hoganas)  and  knew  each  other's  people 
and  would  have  acted  in  the  same  manner  if  they  had 
been  in  the  second  mate's  place. 

The  cook  soon  took  charge  of  the  case  and  issued  his 
orders  in  an  authoritative  manner.  Eirst  he  ordered  the 
clothes  removed,  then  felt  his  pulse  and  heart  beats. 

"  We  must  get  him  on  his  feet  before  Swanson  gets 
back,"  he  said,  "  or  there  will  be  trouble,  and  we  will  all 
go  to  jail.  This  is  worse  than  murder  in  the  eyes  of  the 
law.  Rub  like  the  devil  while  I  pour  some  of  this  pre- 
cious fluid  into  him." 

The  cook  was  very  careful  regarding  the  quantity  of 
liquor  that  he  administered.  However,  the  mate  very 
soon  showed  signs  of  coming  to,  and  was  able  at  last  to 
enquire  how  long  he  had  been  lying  there.  He  was  in- 
formed that  he  had  been  about  an  hour. 

"  I  remembered  falling  off  the  house.  I  did  not  mean 
to  pull  so  hard.  It  was  wrong  of  me  to  do  so.  Is  that 
poor  fellow  badly  hurt  ? " 

"  Hurt !  "  said  the  cook,  "  not  at  all.  He  is  right  here, 
and  is  the  man  that  brought  you  to.  Would  you  like  to 
see  him?  Come  here,  August.  Ericson  wants  to  shake 
hands  with  you." 

August,  who  had  been  feeling  pretty  blue,  now  came 
forward,  wreathed  in  smiles,  and  shook  hands  with  Eric- 
son.  We  assisted  Ericson  into  his  clothes,  after  which 
he  walked  aft,  still  very  much  dazed.  The  cook  and 


134  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Jack  accompanied  him  to  his  cabin,  where  the  cook  mixed 
him  a  toddy,  strong  enough  for  a  Western  ocean  bo'sun, 
which  sent  him  to  sleep  in  a  very  short  time.  There  were 
no  signs  of  the  manager  and  Swanson  returning,  but  the 
yacht  passed  very  close  to  the  Forsette.  They  stopped  to 
speak  to  us,  enquiring  after  the  lunatic.  The  cook  re- 
plied that  he  was  more  docile  now,  thanks  to  the  medicine, 
which  was  excellent  stuff,  but  it  was  a  pity  that  he  had 
no  more  of  it.  This  hint  did  not  move  the  captain  of 
the  yacht  to  send  any  more  medicine.  After  they  had 
steamed  away  the  cook  told  us  that  we  would  have  to  stick 
to  one  common  story,  or  we  would  have  further  trouble. 
The  following  tale  was  devised  by  the  cook  as  being  the 
best  to  tell: 

Ericson  fell  from  the  top  of  the  house.  It  was  none 
of  our  business  what  he  was  doing  there.  August  went 
up  the  fore  t'gallant  yard,  the  better  to  shout  on  account 
of  his  weak  voice  and  then  took  a  nasty  fit,  which  made 
him  utter  such  ungodly  noises  that  they  annoyed  his  lord- 
ship and  caused  him  to  send  over  to  see  what  was  the  mat- 
ter. He  felt  so  distressed  about  it  that  he  sent  some 
medicine,  which  was  entirely  consumed  by  Ericson  and 
August. 

But  how  was  Axel's  absence  to  be  explained?  The 
cook  swore  that  Axel  had  stolen  two  of  his  apple  pies 
when  he  went  to  relieve  the  man  in  the  boat. 

"  What  shall  I  say  if  Swanson  asks  about  my  shoe  ? " 
enquired  Jack. 

"  You  don't  need  to  say  anything  about  that  at  all.  I'll 
tell  him  myself,"  said  the  cook. 

"  All  right.  Then  I  will  explain  to  him  what  became 
of  the  medicine.  I  found  one  bottle  in  my  bunk  and  have 
stowed  it  away  where  you  can't  find  it.  It  has  quite  a 
funny  label,  too." 

The  cook  started  to  run  and  see  for  himself  if  Jack 


YANKEE    SWANSON  155 

had  told  the  truth,  but  he  observed  me  giggling.  He  then 
knew  that  I  was  on  to  him  also. 

"  You  d — d  little  rascal,  I  know  you  are  French, 
but  I  never  thought  you  would  steal  a  dying  man's  medi- 
cine. I  was  just  going  to  give  him  some.  Well,  now, 
Jack,  I  always  spoke  well  of  you.  You  know  where  the 
shoe  is,  but  look  here,  don't  do  anything  you'll  regret  all 
the  rest  of  your  days.  Let  the  poor  fellow  have  his  med- 
icine that  I  worked  so  hard  to  get  him." 

"  Oh,  he  won't  die  to-day  anyway,"  said  Jack.  "  I 
only  guessed  that  you  had  put  it  in  my  bunk." 

"  Don't  mind  what  I  said  to  you,  Jack ;  I  was  only 
fooling.  I  did  put  it  there,  because  you  were  the  only 
one  I  would  trust.  Come  with  me  and  we  will  get  that 
blessed  little  shoe." 


VIII 

IT  was  late  that  evening  when  Swanson  and  the  man- 
ager returned.  On  their  way  they  noticed  a  boat 
stranded  on  one  of  the  islands,  and  found  it  belonged  to 
the  Forsette.  It  puzzled  Swanson,  as  he  found  nothing 
but  the  oars,  mast,  and  sails  belonging  to  it.  They  took 
it  in  tow  and  thus  became  delayed.  When  they  came 
alongside,  the  manager  declined  Swanson's  invitation  to 
come  on  board,  but  promised  to  come  in  the  morning  and 
see  about  hiring  some  men  to  help  load  with  ballast.  The 
cook  was  at  the  gangway  when  Swanson  arrived,  who  im- 
mediately asked  for  Ericson.  He  was  informed  that  he 
had  met  with  a  bad  accident  while  celebrating  the  return 
of  the  king  and  the  lord,  by  falling  from  the  house. 
Swanson  asked  him  if  he  had  sent  for  a  doctor.  The 
cook  said,  "  No,  his  lordship  heard  of  the  accident  and 
sent  over  some  medicine,  which  made  him  go  to  sleep." 
Swanson  then  asked  for  an  explanation  regarding  the 
boat.  He  was  then  told  about  Axel  deserting  the  ship, 
taking  the  boat  with  him. 

"  Gee,  but  you  must  have  had  lots  of  fun  to-day,  cook," 
Swanson  said.  "  Did  Axel  get  away  with  all  his  clothes  ?  " 

"  The  greater  part,  I  think.  He  had  a  pocket  hand- 
kerchief full  or  nearly  so.  I  don't  think  he  left  much 
behind  him." 

The  cook  then  explained  how  Axel  had  been  sent  on 
watch  by  Ericson  while  the  rest  had  a  nap.  Swanson 
expressed  a  great  desire  to  meet  him,  as  he  would  like  to 
have  an  explanation  from  him  regarding  some  nonsense 

he  wrote  home  to  his  mother. 

136 


YANKEE    SWANSON  137 

Next  morning,  of  course,  when  we  turned  to  we  were 
shorthanded  on  account  of  Axel,  so  I  was  detailed  to  take 
a  shovel  and  do  a  man's  work.  Ericson  limped  about  the 
deck,  preferring  to  do  that  than  remain  below.  The  man- 
ager came  off  to  breakfast,  and  he  arranged  for  two  men 
to  come  off  and  help  until  Captain  Bengston  returned. 
I  did  not  hear  any  more  about  the  race,  but  heard  that 
if  the  yacht  came  back  he  would  want  her  alongside  to 
coal.  I  wished  she  would  do  so  as  I  would  like  to  hear 
the  cook's  lies. 

The  following  day,  just  at  dinner  time,  a  party  of 
Laplanders  and  some  dogs  came  alongside.  Swanson  in- 
vited them  to  come  on  board.  Among  the  visitors  was 
the  widow,  also  the  white  dog  that  Jack  had  taken  such 
a  fancy  to.  The  first  thing  she  asked  for  was  Jack,  not 
even  mentioning  the  cook.  Swanson  shouted  for  Jack, 
who  was  down  in  the  cabin  setting  the  table.  When  he 
appeared  he  was  received  with  open  arms,  but  not  kissed, 
much  to  his  relief.  Swanson  told  him  to  take  the  visitors 
around  a  bit  and  to  show  them  things  they  were  not 
familiar  with.  Evidently  the  widow  had  forgotten  all 
about  the  cook,  because  she  seemed  surprised  to  see  him 
in  the  galley.  The  cook  gave  her  the  glad  hand,  which 
she  reluctantly  took,  but  the  dog  showed  his  teeth.  He 
invited  them  into  the  galley,  but  would  not  permit  the  dog 
to  enter.  The  result  was  that  all  declined  the  invitation. 
The  cook  was  heard  to  comment  upon  the  fickleness  of 
women,  widows  in  particular.  Jack  was  meanwhile  mak- 
ing friends  with  the  dog,  for  purposes  of  his  own.  The 
widow  said  he  was  a  remarkable  dog,  and  proudly  made 
him  go  through  some  tricks  that  were  really  worthy  of  a 
circus  dog.  The  dog  walked  on  his  hind  legs,  with  his 
front  legs  across  the  back  of  his  head.  The  widow  then 
gave  one  of  her  shoes  to  one  of  her  friends  with  the  re- 
quest that  he  hide  it.  After  some  time  she  let  the  dog 


138  YANKEE    SWANSON 

know  that  she  was  shy  of  a  shoe,  and  told  him  to  get  it 
for  her.  He  started  off,  but  could  not  find  it.  She 
scolded  him  for  not  bringing  it,  which  seemed  to  affect 
him  greatly,  as  he  began  to  whine.  The  next  time  he 
went  hunting  he  returned,  barking  and  seemingly  very 
happy.  The  widow  said  he  had  found  the  shoe,  but  it 
was  beyond  his  reach,  so  Jack  volunteered  to  assist  him. 
The  slipper  was  found  stowed  away  in  an  inaccessible 
place  in  the  fo'cs'le.  The  shoe  was  given  to  the  dog,  who 
returned  it  to  the  widow. 

Swanson  and  Ericson  came  on  deck  and  mingled  with 
the  visitors,  who  were  enjoying  themselves  sightseeing. 
Swanson  ordered  the  cook  to  prepare  coffee  and  bring  out 
the  hard-tack.  The  cook  was  determined  to  make  himself 
solid  with  the  widow,  by  his  fine  cooking.  He  shouted 
to  Jack  to  help  him  with  things  in  the  galley,  but  Jack 
was  too  busy  feeding  the  dog  with  hard-tack  to  pay  any 
attention  to  him. 

The  Laplanders  are  noted  for  their  begging  propensi- 
ties. They  have  no  shame  in  that  respect,  and  will  ask 
for  the  shirt  off  your  back,  even  if  they  know  it  is  the 
only  one  you  have.  Jack  asked  Swanson  if  he  would 
have  any  objection  to  buying  the  dog  from  the  widow  for 
him,  but  the  very  idea  of  giving  money  to  a  Lap  for  a 
dog  made  Swanson  burst  out  laughing.  Jack  told  him 
what  he  intended  doing  with  the  dog,  and  what  name  the 
dog  was  to  have.  This  caused  Swanson  to  burst  into  peal 
after  peal  of  laughter. 

The  Laplanders  having  seen  everything  worth  looking 
at,  and  having  begged  for  everything  they  saw,  including 
the  chronometer,  Swanson  thought  it  would  be  opportune 
to  make  overtures  to  the  widow  for  the  dog.  At  this 
moment  the  cook  announced  that  lunch  was  ready.  Swan- 
son  then  told  the  widow  how  well  and  young  she  looked, 
and  how  much  attached  his  son  Jack  had  become  to  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  139 

dog;  that  he  had  asked  his  father  to  request  her  to  present 
it  to  him,  as  she  already  had  so  many  other  dogs.  The 
widow  was  surprised  and  undecided  what  to  do.  Finally 
she  said  that  the  manager  had  told  her  that  Jack  was 
a  Frenchman  and  he  couldn't  talk  Swedish.  How  did 
he  account  for  that? 

Swanson  was  taken  aback  at  this,  but  explained  that 
Jack  was  his  adopted  son,  of  whom  he  was  as  fond  as 
though  he  was  his  real  child ;  whereas  she  had  four  sons, 
and  would  therefore  appreciate  Jack's  request  for  the  dog, 
to  remember  her  by  when  in  foreign  countries. 

During  this  conversation  Jack  was  standing  by,  pet- 
ting and  fondling  the  dog,  which  had  become  attached  to 
him.  The  widow  said  it  would  be  a  sad  blow  to  her  to 
part  with  the  dog,  as  it  was  the  only  friend  that  she  had 
had  since  her  husband  died.  It  was  the  best  dog  in  Lap- 
land, and  she  could  get  three  reindeer  for  it  any  time. 
She  said  she  would  give  him  any  other  dog  which  he 
could  train.  Swanson  told  her  that  his  heart  was  on 
this  dog,  and  Jack  wanted  it  to  remember  her  by. 

The  cook  had  everything  ready  for  the  lunch,  so  they 
all  went  forward  to  partake  of  coffee,  hard-tack,  butter, 
and  salt  horse,  to  which  they  all  did  ample  justice.  The 
cook  paid  particular  attention  to  the  widow  and  insisted 
upon  her  taking  more  sweetening  in  her  coffee,  but  she 
wanted  it  without  sugar.  Putting  her  hand  over  the  cup 
to  prevent  him  dropping  any  into  her  cup,  the  cook  still 
insisted,  but  the  dog  came  to  her  aid  by  taking  a  bite 
at  the  cook's  calf,  and  both  got  entangled  in  the  ensuing 
scrimmage,  with  the  dog  as  victor. 

The  cook  ignominiously  fled  into  the  galley,  yelling 
with  pain,  and  swearing  vengeance  on  all  Laplanders, 
dogs,  and  everything  he  could  think  of.  He  called  me 
to  help  him,  and  to  get  the  bottle  of  arnica  and  the  bottle 
that  his  lordship  sent  over,  or  he  would  faint  on  the  coal 


140  YANKEE    SWANSON 

box.  I  told  Swanson  what  he  wanted  and  he  ordered  me 
to  get  the  things  for  him.  I  asked  Jack  for  the  other 
bottle  which  was  in  his  keeping.  The  cook  was  much 
relieved  when  he  saw  me  appear  with  the  bottles.  He 
grasped  the  lord's  bottle  first  and  started  to  drink  it.  I 
warned  him  it  was  for  external  use  only,  but  he  said  it 
was  useful  also  internally,  in  severe  cases.  After  taking 
several  good,  big  drinks  he  asked  me  to  rub  the  arnica 
into  his  legs.  When  I  suggested  that  he  lie  on  his  face 
to  enable  me  to  rub  his  calves  better,  he  said  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  lie  on  his  back,  as  the  medicine  would  act 
better  that  way. 

An  empty  lighter  came  alongside  and  the  Laps  began 
to  prepare  for  their  return  to  camp.  Swanson  gave  up 
all  hopes  of  getting  the  dog;  but  not  so  Jack,  who  took 
out  his  harmonica,  playing  a  few  notes  and  rattling  his 
shoe  to  call  their  attention.  At  once  the  Laps  became 
excited  and  those  who  had  not  seen  Jack  before,  but  who 
had  heard  of  his  performance,  demanded  an  exhibition 
of  his  skill.  Nothing  would  satisfy  Jack  but  the  dog. 
The  widow  tried  to  collect  a  purse  among  her  friends, 
but  Jack  would  not  listen  to  it ;  it  was  the  dog  or  nothing. 
Finally  it  was  agreed  that  Jack  should  ha^e  the  dog,  with 
the  understanding  that  if  it  got  homesick  while  the 
Forsette  was  at  Grotto,  he  should  be  returned  to  camp. 
This  arrangement  being  agreeable  to  all  parties,  Jack 
struck  up  a  clog-dance.  He  was  determined  that  they 
should  have  their  money's  worth,  so  went  down  to  his 
little  room  and  discarded  his  clogs,  putting  on  slippers. 
He  then  did  a  sand-dance,  which  the  Laps  thought  the 
most  wonderful  of  all. 

Swanson  was  sitting  on  the  rail,  smoking  his  pipe  and 
watching  the  dancing.  He  admired  the  tact  of  the  boy, 
who  had  carried  the  deal  through  so  well,  where  he  had 
failed.  The  dancing  over,  the  widow  came  to  Swanson 


YANKEE    SWANSON  141 

to  express  her  gratitude  for  all  the  kindness  shown  to  her- 
self and  companions.  She  was  informed  that  the  pleas- 
ure was  ours,  and  that  the  dog  would  be  well  taken  care 
of.  The  widow  told  Jack  the  dog's  name,  but  it  was  too 
long  to  remember,  so  he  was  christened  Napoleon,  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  visitors. 

The  name  did  not  seem  to  suit  the  Laps.  It  was  found 
upon  enquiry  that  they  were  all  familiar  with  the  history 
of  the  great  man,  but  disapproved  of  his  sad  end.  How- 
ever, as  the  dog  was  now  Jack's,  the  matter  rested  with 
him.  After  asking  Swanson  and  Jack  to  come  to  the 
camp  and  give  them  another  dance  before  we  sailed,  they 
bade  us  all  "  Good-bye,"  and  even  the  cook,  who  was  found 
lying  in  his  coal  box,  snoring  like  a  hog  and  evidently 
under  the  influence  of  the  external  medicine. 

"No  sooner  had  they  left  than  Jack  shouted  out  the 
good  news  that  the  dog  was  ours.  I  warned  him  to  look 
out  for  the  cook,  who  would  be  sure  to  have  a  grudge 
against  the  dog.  Jack  was  confident  that  Nap  would  take 
ample  care  of  himself. 

The  work  was  very  hard  on  me,  as  I  was  not  strong 
enough  to  do  a  man's  work  at  shovelling  coal.  Jack  saw 
my  predicament  and  often  came  into  the  hold  to  help  me 
by  picking  up  large  pieces  of  coal  and  throwing  them  into 
the  basket.  Swanson  observed  him  doing  this  and  never 
missed  an  opportunity  to  praise  the  boy.  He  said  he 
would  try  to  find  out  about  him  when  he  got  to  England, 
as  it  was  a  pity  that  a  boy  with  such  brains  should  be 
allowed  to  run  wild.  One  time  he  remarked  about  the 
difference  between  him  and  Axel. 

"  Yes,"  said  Captain  Bengston.  "  And  did  not  Axel 
give  you  a  fine  name  at  home  ?  What  did  your  wife  say 
about  it  ?  " 

"  She  thinks  that  every  one  that  has  lived  in  America 
is  a  bad  one  and  her  sister  is  nearly  as  bad." 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

Bengston  said  his  wife  thought  him  the  worst  savage 
that  sailed  the  ISTorth  Sea,  because  he  did  not  go  to  church 
twice  on  Sunday. 

There  had  been  a  new  sailor  engaged  to  take  the  place 
of  Axel.  He  was  a  native  of  Bodo,  and  about  twenty- 
five  years  of  age.  He  turned  out  to  be  a  first  class  sailor 
and  an  all  round  good  fellow. 

The  cargo  left  on  board  was  now  only  about  fifty  tons. 
It  was  therefore  necessary  to  load  some  ballast.  To  this 
end  two  lighters  were  borrowed  from  the  manager  for 
the  purpose  of  loading  her  with  rocks.  This  work  was 
cleaner  and  far  more  agreeable  than  unloading  coal. 
During  our  stay  at  Grotto  Captain  Bengston  heard  from 
the  owners  that  he  was  to  take  charge  of  another  ship  on 
his  arrival  in  England.  This  was  such  good  news  to  the 
captain  that  every  time  a  lighter  came  alongside  every 
man  got  a  bottle  of  beer.  The  captain  was  anxious  to 
get  away  as  soon  as  possible,  on  account  of  the  early 
closing  of  navigation  at  Archangel.  By  eight  o'clock 
that  evening  we  had  all  the  ballast  on  board  and  were  sit- 
ting around  in  various  cliques,  conversing  with  each  other. 
Jack  and  I  were  trying  to  prevent  Nap  from  being  home- 
sick, and  the  cook  was  engaged  in  catching  codfish.  Jack 
said  to  me  that  Swanson  was  to  take  command  of  the 
Forsette,  and  Bengston  of  the  new  big  vessel  that  the 
owners  had  recently  bought.  Bengston  told  Jack  that  he 
was  to  go  with  him  on  the  new  vessel,  and  that  they  would 
likely  be  gone  for  a  long  time,  probably  to  China  or 
India.  "  You  will  come,  too,"  said  Jack.  I  told  him  it 
was  impossible,  as  I  had  to  prepare  for  my  first  com- 
munion, and  besides,  my  people  were  anxious  to  get  me 
home.  Such  being  the  case,  he  preferred  to  go  with  me, 
and  if  Swanson  would  permit  it,  to  sail  with  the  latter. 
I  told  him  I  had  spoken  to  Swanson  about  it,  and  he  was 
willing  that  Jack  should  come  home  with  the  ship,  but 


YANKEE    SWANSON  143 

he  was  afraid  that  he  would  leave  us  when  we  got  to 
England. 

This  satisfied  Jack  that  Swanson  was  a  good  friend  to 
him,  so  he  informed  me  that  Swanson  had  a  letter  for 
me  from  Miss  Betsey,  as  he  had  heard  him  tell  Ericson 
about  it.  Just  then  Swanson  called  me  and  I  went  aft 
to  see  what  was  wanted.  Swanson  gave  me  a  letter, 
which  he  said  came  in  the  captain's  envelope,  and  evi- 
dently was  from  one  of  my  many  sweethearts  in  Grange- 
mouth.  He  warned  me  to  make  good  use  of  my  school 
books  so  that  I  could  answer  it. 

Jack  was  all  smiles  when  I  came  along  with  the  letter. 
He  suggested  that  we  go  into  his  room  to  read  the  letter 
instead  of  going  to  the  fo'cs'le.  The  captain  and  his 
mates  saw  us  making  a  sneak  for  the  room,  which  was 
kept  spotlessly  clean  by  Jack.  Lighting  the  lamp,  we  sat 
on  the  floor  and  started  in  to  business.  Jack's  education 
had  been  neglected,  consequently  he  was  of  no  use  to  me 
in  unravelling  it.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  get  the 
dictionary  from  the  fo'cs'le.  On  my  way,  it  was  my  mis- 
fortune to  be  waylaid  by  the  cook,  whose  ears  were  marvels 
at  gathering  news.  "  Hey  there !  do  you  want  any  assist- 
ance with  that  love  letter  of  yours  ?  "  I  did  not  answer, 
but  ran  right  in  for  all  my  books,  to  save  making  another 
trip.  Coming  out,  he  was  still  there,  and  when  passing 
he  muttered  about  the  awful  ingratitude  of  some  young- 
sters, and  the  way  they  were  brought  up  nowadays. 

Jack  was  feeling  a  little  hurt,  that  he,  a  Britisher,  could 
not  read  or  write  English,  but  I  cheered  him  up  by  saying 
that  before  we  got  back  to  grandpa  we  both  would  be  able 
to  speak  and  read  both  Swedish  and  English,  but  there 
must  be  no  more  boxing  or  dancing.  With  this  assurance 
we  began  our  struggle  with  the  letter,  which  was  as  fol- 
lows: 


144  YANKEE    SWANSON 

"  GEANGEMOUTH,  July  15th,  18Y7. 
"  ANDREW  WALFRID  NELSON, 

"  My  dear  friend:  — 

"  ('  Gee  whiz,  she  remembers  the  whole  name,'  said 
Jack.  { I  bet  she  remembers  me,  too.')  I  often  think  of 
you  and  the  other  boy  that  could  dance  so  nicely.  (c  What 
did  I  tell  you  ?  I'll  bet  she  will  say  something  about  the 
shoes,  too.'  '  Hold  on ;  you  disturb  me,'  I  said.  '  All 
right,  I  was  only  anxious  to  find  out  if  she  remembered  me. 
She  is  the  first  one  that  ever  did,  except  you  and  Swan- 
son.')  Mamma  and  I  are  anxious  to  know  if  you  are  mak- 
ing use  of  the  books.  Mamma  says  that  the  little  English 
boy  can  help  you  a  great  deal  with  your  studies,  if  he  is 
friendly  to  you.  He  seemed  to  be  such  a  nice  little  chap. 
We  often  laugh  at  him  losing  his  shoes,  and  papa  laughs 
when  we  talk  about  the  fat  woman  on  the  train.  Mac- 
Dougall  works  for  papa,  but  he  does  not  swear  any  more. 
Best  regards  to  Yankee.  I  liked  his  nigger  songs.  Papa 
is  trying  to  sing  one  of  them  in  the  kitchen  now,  but  he 
can't  make  the  fancy  steps  that  Swanson  did.  I  hope  the 
Forsette  will  come  back  to  our  place.  Papa  tells  me  to 
ask  you  to  bring  me  a  Russian  lacquer  cup  from  Archangel, 
and  I  will  give  you  something  else  when  you  get  back.  All 
the  little  boys  and  girls  that  used  to  visit  the  pitch  place 
have  been  asking  for  you.  They  all  say  you  were  a  good 
boy,  and  I  say  the  same.  Papa  is  writing  to  Capt.  Bengs- 
ton  and  Mr.  Swanson. 

"  Good-bye, 

"  Your  friend, 

"  BETSEY." 

"  Well  that's  all.     What  do  you  think  of  it,  Jack  ?  " 
"  I  wish  I  could  read  as  quick  as  that,"  said  Jack. 
"  She  is  a  nice  girl  to  remember  us  like  that,  and  she  is 
pretty,  too.     Do  you  know  we  got  off  awfully  cheap  with 


YANKEE    SWANSON  145 

Nap,  and  I  have  been  thinking  that  we  could  buy  Kussian 
lacquer  cups  for  Betsey  with  the  money  we  have 
left." 

I  told  him  the  money  was  his.  Besides,  $25.00  worth 
of  Russian  lacquer  ware  would  fill  the  Forsette.  A  cup 
such  as  she  wanted  would  not  cost  more  than  twenty-five  or 
fifty  cents.  And  then  what  about  the  new  suit  of  clothes  he 
intended  buying  in  England,  to  wear  when  he  and  I  and 
!Nap  got  our  photos  taken. 

He  did  not  know  that  the  cups  were  so  cheap,  and 
objected  strongly  to  my  not  accepting  half  of  the  money, 
saying  he  would  send  it  to  the  widow  to  pay  for  the  dog. 
I  told  him  that  he  had  already  given  the  widow  something 
to  pay  for  the  dog,  that  she  would  remember  all  her  life, 
and  make  his  name  well  known  throughout  Lapland. 
When  he  asked  what  it  was  he  gave  her,  I  said,  "  Kisses." 
He  made  a  very  wry  face  over  the  matter. 

"  If  it  was  not  for  the  kissing,  I  would  ask  Swanson 
for  leave  to  go  to  the  camp  to-morrow  evening  and  make 
a  few  dollars  more  by  giving  a  boxing  exhibition."  I 
said  it  was  a  capital  idea,  and  we  could  take  the  cook  along 
to  act  as  referee  and  collect  the  cash.  Jack  became  ex- 
cited at  the  mention  of  the  cook,  saying  he  would  likely 
keep  all  the  money,  and  then  just  see  what  a  racket  he 
made  last  time. 

The  boxing  proposition  was  given  up,  as  we  were  all 
anxious  to  get  the  coal  out  of  the  ship  and  get  to  sea 
again.  Our  men  had  only  been  ashore  once  while  at 
Grotto,  so  Swanson  let  them  have  the  boat  to  go  over  to 
the  whaling  station  and  witness  the  cutting  up  of  a  whale 
that  had  been  captured  that  day.  I  was  sorry  that  I  did 
not  get  a  chance  to  see  it. 

During  our  stay  in  Grotto  there  were  a  large  number 
of  whales  in  the  harbour,  but  they  were  of  a  species  that 
whalemen  did  not  care  about.  Consequently,  I  did  not 


146  YANKEE    SWANSON 

see  a  whale  hunt,  but  the  cook,  from  his  everlasting  fund 
of  adventures  told  us  all  about  it. 

"  I  remember  many  years  ago,  when  boatsteerer  on  an 
Aberdeen  whaler,  we  were  off  the  coast  of  Greenland  after 
bowhead.  The  season  was  nearly  over  before  we  made 
our  first  haul.  Everybody  was  thoroughly  disgusted  be- 
cause we  had  no  wages,  working  on  *  lay,'  as  it  is  called. 
We  were  afraid  that  the  old  man  would  turn  tail  and  go 
down  to  St.  Helena  after  sperm-whale,  which  would  mean 
another  year  of  it.  One  day,  at  daybreak,  a  dozen  nice, 
big  fat  bowhead  came  along.  We  lowered  and  manned 
the  four  boats,  leaving  the  captain,  cook,  and  the  boy  on 
board  to  look  after  the  ship.  It  was  a  beautiful  morning, 
with  a  gentle  breeze  from  nor'rd.  Setting  our  sails,  we 
stood  off  on  a  course  to  head  them  off,  and  landed  right 
among  them  as  slick  as  possible.  The  first  fellow  that 
came  up  I  let  have  the  harpoon,  good  and  strong.  Off  he 
went  like  a  streak  of  greased  lightning  with  every  inch  of 
line  and  going  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  miles  an  hour. 
Yes,  that  was  a  joy-ride  for  you.  Talk  of  your  Flying 
Dutchman.  For  real  sport  and  rapid  travelling,  give  me 
a  Greenland  bowhead  with  a  harpoon  in  him.  There  is 
nothing  on  dry  land  or  salt  water  to  beat  him.  Just  to  give 
you  an  idea  of  how  fast  we  were  going, —  when  I  hooked 
on  the  ship  was  five  miles  away,  hull  down.  Very  soon 
we  were  back  to  the  ship  again,  passing  close  under  the 
stern,  when  the  skipper  shouted,  '  How  many  irons  have 
you  got  into  him  ? '  and  before  I  could  answer  she  was 
hull  down  again  and  nearly  out  of  sight.  I  could  not  tell 
all  that  happened  during  the  first  thousand  miles  or  so  that 
we  travelled  that  day.  We  got  frostbitten  on  account  of 
our  clothes  being  blown  off.  It  was  getting  colder  and 
colder  all  the  time  until  we  thought  we  were  crossing  the 
!N"orth  Pole,  when  we  again  crossed  under  the  stern  of  the 
ship,  and  the  skipper  shouted  to  be  careful  not  to  catch 


YANKEE    SWANSON  14/7 

cold,  as  we  were  stripped  to  the  bare  poles.  At  last  I  got 
the  whale  subdued,  and  gave  orders  to  shorten  in  on  him. 
I  gave  him  another  harpoon,  which  made  him  sound,  and 
I  finally  got  him  to  the  ship's  side,  where  we  made  fast 
and  got  the  blubber  from  him  that  night.  The  other  boats 
did  fairly  well,  but  their  whales  were  a  long  way  from 
the  ship  and  had  to  be  buoyed  until  the  following  day. 
Ah,  well,  it's  experience  that  tells  in  the  long  run." 

As  we  were  hoisting  the  last  basket  of  coal  that  after- 
noon the  manager  came  on  board  and  engaged  in  a  whis- 
pered conversation  with  the  captain.  They  sent  for  Swan' 
son  and  soon  we  could  see  that  something  mysterious  was 
on  the  tapis.  It  appeared  afterward  that  a  body  had 
been  washed  upon  the  beach,  which  was  thought  to  be 
Axel's,  and  the  manager  wanted  some  one  to  come  ashore 
and  identify  the  body.  Of  course,  nothing  of  that  sort 
could  be  kept  a  secret  on  board  the  Forsette  while  the  cook 
had  free  use  of  his  ears.  There  was  nothing  to  equal 
them  for  news  gathering;  they  should  have  been  classed 
as  an  improvement  on  the  wireless.  If  some  Yellow  Jour- 
nal had  known  of  his  existence,  what  a  fortune  it  would 
have  made  out  of  him  as  a  waterfront  reporter ! 

Swanson  had  no  sooner  left  the  ship  than  the  cook 
called  Jack  into  the  galley,  and  there  told  him  what  he 
had  heard,  impressing  upon  him  that  the  body  undoubt- 
edly was  Axel's.  Poor  Jack  imagined  he  was  to  blame  for 
the  cause  of  Axel's  death  by  aiding  him  to  escape,  and 
burst  out  crying.  The  cook  was  utterly  unaware  that  Jack 
or  I  had  any  hand  in  assisting  Axel,  otherwise  I  do  not 
think  he  would  have  said  anything  to  Jack  about  it. 
Jack  came  weeping  to  me  in  the  fo'cs'le,  where  I  was  busy 
cleaning  myself  of  coal  dust.  I  thought  some  one  had 
whipped  him.  When  he  had  told  me  the  story  I  asked 
him  if  he  had  told  the  cook  anything.  He  said  that  he 
had  not.  We  were  all  right,  then.  If  it  was  Axel's  body 


148  YANKEE    SWANSON 

we  could  make  a  clean  breast  of  it  to  Swanson,  and  if  not, 
we  could  keep  quiet. 

It  was  an  anxious  time  for  us  until  Swanson  returned, 
which  was  not  until  sunset,  when  he  told  us  that  it  was 
not  the  body  of  Axel,  but  of  some  unknown  and  older 
person.  The  body  could  not  have  been  in  the  water  over 
a  couple  of  days.  It  was  buried  in  the  churchyard,  with 
Swanson  and  the  manager  as  pall-bearers. 

This  was  good  news  to  us,  but  the  man  who  worried 
most  was  Swanson,  as  it  was  known  he  had  threatened  to 
do  something  to  Axel  if  he  found  him. 

Axel  was  indeed  not  dead,  but  very  much  alive  and  using 
his  tongue  to  besmirch  our  characters. 

The  last  load  of  coal  was  in  the  lighters,  where  it  was 
to  remain  until  the  yacht  came  up  from  Grotto,  and  thus 
save  the  expense  of  rehandling.  The  manager  remained 
to  supper  and  spent  the  night  with  the  captain  and  mates. 
They  had  a  jolly  night,  singing  and  dancing.  Bengston, 
feeling  well  satisfied  with  the  way  things  had  gone  and 
the  news  of  his  promotion,  sent  a  bottle  of  brandy  and 
and  some  beer  forward  to  the  men,  which  made  them  talk- 
ative, especially  the  cook,  who  told  a  tale  of  tiger  hunting 
even  more  hair-raising  than  the  whale  hunt. 

I  was  anxious  to  write  home,  so  Jack  and  I  sneaked  off 
to  his  room,  where  I  had  great  difficulty  in  writing,  on 
account  of  the  noise  made  by  the  captain  and  his  friends, 
and  also  because  I  had  to  use  the  floor  for  my  desk. 

The  letter  home  was  an  easy  matter,  as  I  wrote  collec- 
tively, thus  saving  time  and  labour.  I  warned  them  all 
against  Axel's  evil  tongue,  and  praised  Jack  to  the  skies, 
telling  them  of  the  $25.00  he  had  made  a  present  of  to 
Axel.  I  almost  ran  out  of  paper,  telling  about  grandpa's 
future  dog  and  his  wonderful  tricks.  Jack  wanted  me  to 
tell  them  of  what  new  tricks  he  was  going  to  teach  the  dog, 
i.  e.,  filling  grandpa's  pipe,  etc.  I  told  Jack  he  would 


YANKEE    SWANSON  149 

have  to  be  very  careful  of  what  he  said  or  wrote  to  the 
old  man,  as  he  was  very  touchy. 

Then  came  the  letter  to  Betsey,  which  I  dreaded,  but 
was  determined  to  write.  With  Jack's  assistance  and  the 
dictionary,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  the  words  that  I 
required.  After  it  was  finished  I  read  it  over  and  Jack 
pronounced  it  first  class.  Jack  suggested  letting  Swan- 
son  read  it,  but  I  could  not  see  it  that  way.  When  I  went 
to  my  bunk  that  night  I  wondered  what  Betsey  would 
think  of  the  letter,  and  if  I  had  made  good  with  my 
studies,  or  would  she  think  I  was  a  blockhead. 

There  really  was  no  call  for  me  to  worry  over  my  letter. 
I  did  not  know  Betsey  then  as  I  learned  to  know  her  after- 
ward. She  received  my  letter  in  the  spirit  it  was  written, 
which  was  what  I  expected.  I  hardly  ever  thought  of 
my  first  English  letter  again,  having  every  reason  to 
expect  that  it  was  consigned  to  the  fire.  But  that  letter 
accidentally  fell  into  my  hands  ten  years  afterward,  in 
San  Francisco,  and  Betsey  told  me  that  this  same  letter  of 
mine  was  the  only  one  she  had  ever  received  that  she 
thought  enough  of  to  keep. 

Next  morning  we  found  the  yacht  at  anchor  near  by, 
looking  spick  and  span,  alow  and  aloft.  The  men  came 
from  the  shore  and  took  the  lighter  to  the  yacht.  After 
breakfast  the  manager  took  the  captain  with  him  to  the 
yacht. 

Swanson  sent  the  royal  yards  aloft  and  made  things 
ship-shape  for  going  to  sea.  After  breakfast  I  took  my 
books  to  the  long-boat  and  began  to  study.  I  was  making 
more  progress  with  an  illustrated  reader  than  I  was  with 
Miss  Duncan's  grammar,  having  discarded  Swedish  en- 
tirely for  English.  Jack,  on  the  other  hand,  took  up 
Swedish  with  avidity,  learning  rapidly.  Nap  came  with 
us.  He  was  fast  losing  all  memory  of  the  widow,  and  was 
fond  of  carrying  the  books  for  us. 


150  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Soon  the  manager's  boat  came  alongside  with  a  note  for 
Swanson,  directing  him  to  send  Jack,  dressed  in  his  best 
clothes,  over  to  the  yacht.  Swanson  sent  for  Jack,  tell- 
ing him  to  wash  up  and  dress  himself  as  neatly  as  possible, 
as  he  was  to  go  to  the  yacht.  This  disturbed  our  studies, 
so  I  went  to  find  out  from  the  boatboy  what  Jack  was 
wanted  for.  He  said  that  Captain  Bengston  had  a  posi- 
tion as  deck-boy  for  Jack  on  the  yacht.  When  I  heard  this 
I  became  upset,  not  jealous  over  my  friend's  good  fortune. 
I  had  been  instrumental  in  bringing  him  on  board  the 
Forsette,  and  he  was  happy  with  us,  far  happier  than  he 
had  ever  been  in  all  his  life.  Yet  here  was  a  chance  to 
better  his  conditions,  with  pleasant  associations  and  better 
food.  At  first  I  thought  I  would  influence  him  not  to  go, 
but  I  cast  it  aside  as  underhanded.  Then  the  idea  came 
to  me  to  give  Jack  the  loan  of  my  new  suit,  so  that  he 
could  make  a  favourable  impression. 

Jack  did  not  know  yet  what  he  was  wanted  for,  so  when 
he  was  all  dressed  up  and  ready  to  go  on  board,  Swanson 
met  him  at  the  gangway,  and  shaking  his  hand,  said 
"  Good-bye."  It  struck  Jack  as  very  strange.  I  went 
forward  to  my  bunk,  feeling  miserable.  I  tried  to  think, 
of  something,  but  it  was  impossible,  as  the  cook  was  telling 
some  horrible  lie  about  a  scalping  affair  in  Canada.  I 
crawled  out  of  my  bunk  again,  and  the  cook  took  offence 
at  my  disgusting  airs. 

"  I  don't  go  into  huffs  like  you  do.  What  is  the  matter 
with  you?  You  are  trying  to  imitate  that  high  lord 
almighty,  are  you?  Huh!  he  might  send  over  another 
bottle  of  medicine,  as  August  is  liable  to  go  off  any 
time." 

"  Go  easy,  cooky,"  said  August.  "  He  may  have  given 
the  medicine  to  Captain  Bengston,  and  he  will  bring  it  off 
to  us." 

"  If  he  does,  you  and  I  will  never  see  anything  of  it, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  151 

except,  perhaps,  in  the  shape  of  a  dead  soldier  despatched 
over  the  side  to  join  the  marines." 

"  Don't  be  so  hard  on  the  old  man,  cooky.  He  did 
fairly  well  by  us  last  night." 

"  I  did  not  get  enough  to  cure  a  nasty  headache.  But 
you  ought  to  see  how  fair  he  was  to  himself,  the  manager 
and  these  two  other  hogs.  I  fairly  skated  all  over  myself 
this  morning.  You  ask  Jack.  No  wonder  they  are 
shanghaiing  him,  as  they  are  afraid  he  has  seen  too  much, 
and  will  tell  the  owners.  Poor  owners,  if  they  only  knew 
how  these  fellows  treat  their  property,  they  would  have 
fits." 

How  long  he  kept  up  this  tirade  of  his  I  do  not  know, 
as  I  went  up  on  deck,  where  I  found  Swanson  sitting  on 
the  rail.  He  called  to  me  to  come  over  beside  him,  and 
asked  if  I  had  heard  of  Jack's  good  luck.  I  told  him 
what  the  boatman  said  to  me.  "  Swanson  said  that  they 
were  shorthanded  on  the  yacht  and  Bengston  hearing  of 
it  recommended  Jack,  and  thinks  he  is  doing  the  boy  a 
good  turn.  So  he  is,  in  a  way ;  but  mark  my  word,  Jack: 
will  not  go  there  of  his  own  free  will,  or  I  am  much  mis- 
taken in  Jack,  and  my  name  is  not  Sven  Swanson." 

"  I  see  you  are  much  worried  over  it,  Andrew,  and  well 
you  need  be,  but  he  will  come  back.  All  the  yachts  in 
Great  Britain  can't  keep  that  boy  off  the  old  Forsette" 

Feeling  assured,  I  thanked  Swanson  and  went  forward, 
and  finding  the  cook  still  lying,  went  on  to  the  fo'cs'le  head, 
where  I  found  Herald  singing.  He  had  a  magnificent 
bass  voice.  I  asked  what  he  was  singing,  and  he  said  it 
was  called  "  Rocked  in  the  Cradle  of  the  Deep,"  which 
he  translated  into  Swedish  for  me.  He  then  sang  another, 
but  I  did  not  understand  one  word  of  what  he  said.  It 
turned  out  to  be  French  and  was  from  some  opera.  Here 
was  a  man  able  to  speak  in  three  languages  and  working 
as  a  sailor.  I  was  astonished.  He  said  stern  necessity 


158  YANKEE    SWANSON 

drove  him  to  it,  but  he  was  waiting  for  a  chance  to  get 
something  else. 

The  manager's  boat  was  coming  in  our  direction,  so  I 
walked  over  to  the  gangway  to  see  who  was  in  the  boat. 
Sure  enough,  they  all  three  were  there,  so  I  sat  down 
under  the  long-boat,  from  where  I  could  see  all  that  took 
place.  Swanson  went  to  the  gangway  to  meet  Bengston, 
who  shouted  out,  "  What  do  you  think,  Swanson,  of  that 
little  rascal.  He  refused  to  join  the  yacht  unless  I  paid 
Andrew  off  too,  and  that  is  not  the  worst  of  it  —  he  made 
me  look  cheap  beside  these  noblemen.  Yes,  he  wanted 
that  dog  Napoleon  too.  He  said  he  wanted  it  for  his 
friend's  grandfather,  and  that  the  dog  required  very  spe- 
cial care."  Swanson  and  Ericson  were  hardly  able  to  keep 
from  laughing,  while  Bengston  was  furious  at  Jack's  re- 
fusal, and  threatened  to  throw  him  overboard  or  give  him 
to  the  Lap  widow.  Swanson  could  stand  it  no  longer,  so 
pulled  Jack  toward  him  and  said  he  was  the  best  cabin- 
boy  they  ever  had,  and  if  he  happened  to  like  the  old  For- 
sette  it  did  honour  to  us  and  to  himself.  "  I  did  not  expect 
he  would  do  anything  else,  and  I  told  you  so  in  my  note," 
said  Swanson. 

"  I  know  you  did,  and  I  am  not  finding  fault  with  you 
or  the  boy.  The  only  thing  I  don't  like  is  the  chance  he 
is  throwing  away.  It  was  a  chance  in  a  thousand,  and 
yet  he  throws  it  away  for  a  dog.  '  Napoleon,'  indeed ! 
Well,  there  is  no  use  in  saying  any  more  about  it.  Look 
here,  Jack,  you  must  not  think  I  wanted  to  get  rid  of  you. 
I  thought  that  you  would  be  better  off  among  your  country- 
men, but  it  seems  you  like  your  friends  and  the  dog  better 
than  anything  else  in  the  world.  Therefore,  bear  in  mind 
that  as  long  as  I  have  charge  of  one  of  these  old  North  Sea 
packets  you  will  always  have  a  show  with  me.  Now  go 
forward  and  tell  your  friend  all  about  it." 

It  took  Jack  about  two  hours  to  tell  me  all  the  news 


YANKEE    SWANSON  153 

about  his  lordship.  He  wanted  to  know  if  I  was  aware 
of  what  they  wanted  him  on  board  for.  I  told  him  what 
the  boatman  said,  and  how  I  felt  at  his  going,  but  I  did  not 
like  in  any  way  to  interfere  with  his  advancement,  never 
thinking  that  he  would  prefer  to  remain  on  the  old  ship. 

Jack  said,  "  I  knew  you  loved  me,  Andrew,  and  for 
that  reason  I  did  not  like  to  part  from  you,  and  besides, 
I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  take  Napoleon  to  your 
grandpa." 

This  was  our  last  evening  at  Grotto.  The  manager 
stayed  on  board  until  quite  late,  and  I  spent  an  hour  or 
two  with  Jack  in  his  den  before  going  to  my  bunk.  Next 
morning  Ericson  got  the  men  out,  and  Swanson  gave 
orders  to  man  the  windlass.  The  pilot  was  already  on 
board, —  the  same  one  who  brought  us  in.  The  anchor 
was  coming  in  at  a  pretty  lively  rate  to  the  chantey,  "  We 
are  bound  for  the  Rio  Grande." 

At  first  Jack  and  I  were  engaged  stowing  the  chain,  but 
were  afterward  sent  aloft  to  loosen  all  sails. 

We  had  a  hard  time  of  it  breaking  out  the  anchor.  The 
bottom  was  rocky  and  the  fluke  had  evidently  caught 
under  a  shelving  rock.  The  manager  had  been  observing 
our  difficulty,  so  came  off  with  several  stalwart  hands  to 
help  us.  Bengston  shouted  for  the  bottle  to  splice  the 
main  brace.  Then  we  all  pulled  hard,  but  the  chain 
parted  at  the  hawse  and  our  anchor  remained  where  it 
was.  Fortunately  we  had  a  spare  one,  which  was  after- 
ward brought  up  from  the  hold.  The  manager  and  his 
friends  shook  hands  with  us  and  wished  us  a  good  voyage. 
The  wind  was  light  and  favourable,  and  the  pilot  wanted 
everything  set  that  could  draw,  as  he  was  anxious  to  get 
out  of  the  islands  before  dark.  At  noon  we  saw  the 
broad  Atlantic,  and  the  wind  began  to  freshen  up  a  bit, 
making  the  Forsette  careen  over  at  an  angle  that  made 
walking  difficult. 


154  YANKEE    SWANSON 

As  Jack  had  not  been  aloft  before  while  the  vessel  was 
under  way,  Swanson  thought  it  would  be  a  good  oppor- 
tunity for  him  to  learn  how  to  stow  the  main  royal.  He 
was  quick  to  grasp  the  situation,  and  I  explained  every- 
thing I  knew  about  it.  He  then  wished  to  stow  the  fore 
royal  without  my  assistance.  When  we  came  down  he 
asked  Ericson  to  be  allowed  to  do  so,  but  Ericson  said  he 
would  have  to  see  Swanson,  as  the  latter  was  more  careful 
of  Jack  than  he  was  of  his  wife.  Ericson  said  that  when 
lie  was  a  boy  it  was  oftener  a  kick  from  a  heavy  sea-boot 
than  kind  words  that  he  received.  But  then  he  did  not 
have  the  intelligence  that  Jack  had.  He  went  aft  and 
told  the  mate,  who  came  forward  and  asked  Jack  if  he 
could  do  it  alone,  and  Jack  said  "  Yes."  "All  right 
then ;  but  take  your  time  to  it,  and  be  careful." 

Jack  ran  up  the  fore  rigging  like  an  old  hand.  He 
rested  a  moment  on  the  crosstrees,  and  looked  down  to  see 
if  anybody  took  notice  of  him.  Seeing  Swanson  on  the 
poop  talking  to  the  pilot,  he  stowed  the  royal  in  a  seaman- 
like  manner,  and  then  slid  down  the  royal  backstay  after 
the  style  of  the  cook  when  he  took  the  part  of  the  lunatic. 
Without  waiting  for  Swanson  to  congratulate  him,  he  ran 
up  on  the  forecastle  head  to  find  out  how  his  work  com- 
pared with  the  main  royal.  He  evidently  found  it  satis- 
factory, because  he  turned  a  somersault  and  started  in  on 
a  clog  dance,  when  his  movements  were  arrested  by  Nap, 
who  came  running  on  three  legs. 

Jack  examined  the  paw  and  found  it  bleeding  a  little. 
Remembering  the  arnica  bottle,  he  went  to  the  galley  for 
it  and  appropriated  it.  There  was  very  little  left,  but  it 
was  all  used  on  the  paw.  Going  to  the  poop  to  get  some 
more,  Swanson  met  him  and  asked  what  the  matter  was. 
Jack  told  him  it  was  for  Nap.  It  turned  out  that  the 
pilot  had  accidentally  stepped  on  the  paw.  There  was  no 
more  arnica  on  board,  so  Swanson  told  Jack  to  fetch  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  155 

cook,  as  he  wanted  to  find  out  about  what  he  had  done  with 
all  the  arnica.  The  cook  was  in  the  lazaret,  breaking 
open  a  barrel  of  salt  beef.  He  was  told  the  mate  wanted 
him. 

"  What  for  ?  "  asked  the  cook.  "  To  splice  the  main 
brace  ?  That's  three  times  hand  running.  Must  be  some- 
thing wrong  about  this." 

"  No,  it's  about  the  arnica  bottle.  He  is  angry  about 
it." 

"  Is  that  so  ?  He  would  be  angry  if  he  had  to  do  this 
kind  of  work.  He  would  be  d— d  sick,  same  as  I  am. 
Tell  him  I'll  come  as  soon  as  I  can.  One  barrel  of  sauer- 
kraut has  exploded  on  me  and  raised  hell  in  general.  I 
have  my  doubt  of  the  salt  pork,  and  don't  like  the  looks 
or  the  smell." 

I  was  at  the  wheel  when  Jack  reported  the  conditions 
in  the  steward's  department,  causing  every  one  to  burst 
out  laughing. 

It  was  hard  work  all  that  day,  beating  up  against  the 
wind.  The  vessel  being  light,  she  made  a  lot  of  leeway, 
causing  us  to  "  'bout  ship  "  every  ten  minutes  or  so.  Our 
running  gear  was  all  hemp  rope,  which  burned  our  hands, 
and  glad  indeed  were  we  all  when  the  pilot  left  us. 

It  was  midnight  before  everything  was  made  secure, 
and  the  watches  set.  Swanson  sent  the  second  mate  and 
his  watch  below,  but  picked  the  new  man,  Herald,  for  his 
watch.  I  was  glad  of  this,  because  I  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  Herald  was  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman, 
and  I  intended  to  make  use  of  him  in  teaching  me  English. 

It  was  my  first  trick  at  the  wheel  — 12  to  2  —  which 
I  found  to  be  very  hard  work,  on  account  of  carrying  too 
much  sail  aft,  making  it  very  heavy  on  the  helm.  Several 
times  Swanson  had  to  assist  me,  as  it  was  beyond  my 
strength.  At  four  bells,  Herald  relieved  me,  when  I  ran 


156  YANKEE    SWANSON 

forward  and  threw  myself  down  on  a  coil  of  rope,  where  I 
fell  sound  asleep  until  the  watch  was  relieved. 

It  took  us  just  three  weeks  from  the  day  we  left  Grotto 
to  the  day  we  doubled  North  Cape,  and  during  those 
weeks  we  experienced  all  sorts  of  weather ;  but  we  did  con- 
siderable work  outside  of  the  regular  routine.  The  rig- 
ging was  tarred,  new  lanyards  rove  off,  spars  scraped  down 
and  oiled,  all  of  which  gave  us  little  time  for  our  studies. 
The  men  grumbled  when  the  officers  were  out  of  hearing, 
but  this  was  the  common  practice  among  vessels  trading 
in  the  Baltic  or  North  Sea. 

One  evening  Jack  called  me  into  his  den  to  show  me 
something  of  importance.  I  found  him  stretched  on  the 
floor  writing  in  a  book  with  a  lead  pencil.  "  What  have 
you  got  ? "  I  asked.  He  showed  me  the  book  covered  with 
a  lot  of  dots  and  scratches,  which  were  incomprehensible 
to  me.  "  Don't  you  know  what  it  is  ? "  he  said.  "  I 
don't  expect  you  can  read  it,  because  it  is  written  in 
French.  This  is  my  diary  given  to  me  by  Swanson,  who 
asked  me  to  write  down  every  day  anything  of  importance 
that  occurs  on  board.  He  says  it  will  be  useful  to  me  in 
the  future." 

He  then  told  me  that  he  had  begun  it  on  the  day  we 
first  met  at  the  pitch  boiling  place.  I  became  interested 
at  once  and  asked  for  an  outline  of  what  he  had  written. 
All  our  conversations,  the  cook's  terrible  stories  and  lies, 
the  fights  and  quarrels  on  board  ship,  all  about  the  dog  and 
everything  he  could  think  of  were  all  jotted  down.  "  I 
have  shown  it  to  Herald,  and  he  says  there  are  a  lot  of 
faults  in  it,  mainly  in  the  spelling,  but  he  will  correct 
them  for  me." 


IX 

ONE  evening,  becalmed  close  by  a  little  island,  the 
foremast  hands,  including  myself,  Jack,  and  the 
cook,  were  sitting  on  the  gallant  fo'cs'le,  watching  some 
belugas  gambolling  not  a  great  distance  off. 

One  of  the  seamen  (Otto),  who  was  generally  called  the 
carpenter  because  he  was  handy  with  the  tools,  came  from 
the  wheel  and  informed  us  that  Bengston  and  Swanson 
were  almost  at  daggers'  points  over  some  little  trivial  mat- 
ter in  regard  to  finding  the  ship's  position  by  stars,  Swan- 
son  having  stated  that  he  preferred,  and  had  more  reliance, 
in  a  position  obtained  by  stars  under  favourable  conditions 
than  he  had  from  a  position  by  sights  of  the  sun.  Beng- 
ston, on  the  other  hand,  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  stars,  even  under  the  very  best  of  conditions,  except 
the  Polaris,  which  at  times  he  had  found  useful. 

Herald  being  the  only  one  who  knew  anything  about 
navigation,  backed  up  Swanson,  and  the  cook,  who  claimed 
to  know  something  of  navigation,  took  the  captain's  stand. 
The  argument  got  very  heated  and  the  cook  went  on  to 
explain  how  he  and  another  fellow,  who  was  no  use  what- 
soever, had  sailed,  as  well  as  navigated,  a  dismasted  vessel 
from  Cape  Horn  to  Montevideo,  and  this  without  any 
instruments  at  all,  except  what  the  cook  invented  himself, 
viz.,  a  sextant  made  from  a  big  beef  bone,  which  could  be 
seen  any  day  in  the  Royal  Museum  in  London.  Herald 
asked  him  to  show  us  greenhorns  how  he  held  the  sextant 
when  he  took  an  observation,  which  he  proceeded  to  do  by 
violently  pulling  Otto's  long  German  pipe  out  of  his  mouth, 

thereby  injuring  a  tooth  and  made  Otto  swear.     The  cook, 

157 


158  YANKEE    SWANSON 

holding  the  pipe  as  if  in  the  act  of  sweeping  the  horizon, 
shouted,  "  This  is  the  way  it  should  be  done,  but  you  won't 
find  Swanson  or  that  old  boat-hook  skipper  Bengston  doing 
it  that  way,  and  what  is  more,  you  will  find  very  few 
navigators,  even  the  best  of  them,  who  know  how  to  use 
the  sextant  properly." 

At  eight  bells  it  was  my  wheel,  and  when  I  came  aft  I 
found  Bengston  and  Swanson  discoursing  of  the  telephone, 
just  then  becoming  of  general  use.  Some  friend  of  Beng- 
ston's  had  written  and  told  him  that  he  had  one  of  those 
machines  installed  in  his  office  in  Grangemouth,  and  that 
it  was  the  first  one  in  use  in  Great  Britain.  Swanson  said, 
"  You  will  find  that  these  machines  your  friend  mentions 
have  been  in  use  in  America  for  some  time,  and  were  at  the 
exposition  in  Philadelphia  last  year." 

"  All  right,  all  right,"  said  Bengston,  "  everything  is 
America  with  you.  ISJext  you  will  tell  me  that  the  Amer- 
icans discovered  America,  too,  and  that  old  Leif  Ericson 
was  not  a  Norseman,  but  an  American. 

"  It  has  always  been  a  puzzle  to  me,"  went  on  Bengston, 
"  that  you  who  worship  the  Americans  could  come  back 
and  settle  among  us  again.  I  could  hardly  remember  you 
when  you  came  back,  although  we  are  slightly  related. 
Let  me  see,  it  was  in  seventy  you  came  back,  wasn't  it  ?  " 
Swanson  admitted  it  was.  "  Well,  you  and  I  are  the  same 
age,  and  I  well  remember  the  day  you  ran  away  from  your 
father.  It  was  an  awful  beating  he  gave  you  that  day, 
and  he  was  drunk  as  a  lord  when  he  did  it.  You  were 
only  nine  years  old  then,  and  so  was  I.  It  was  in  1839 ; 
see  how  I  remember  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know  you  have  a  fine  memory,  but  you  seem 
to  forget,  at  least  you  don't  mention  that  it  was  only  on 
account  of  your  wife  and  her  sister  —  my  wife  —  that  I 
didn't  go  back  again.  You  know  I  only  came  to  see  the 
old  place  once  more.  It  has  a  certain  amount  of  attrac- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  159 

tion  for  me,  and  besides,  I  wanted  to  put  a  few  flowers  on 
the  old  man's  grave,  as  well  as  erecting  a  stone  on  it." 

"  That  you  did,  and  it  was  the  wonder  of  the  town  that 
you  did.  It's  the  finest  stone  there,  and  you  deserve  great 
credit  for  it,"  said  Bengston.  "  But  how  about  your  wife 
in  America?  You  never  told  me  much  about  her.  Did 
you  tell  your  wife  everything  ?  " 

"  I  did,  but  there  isn't  much  to  be  said  about  it.  She 
is  dead  and  that  is  the  end  of  it.  I  did  all  a  man  could 
do  for  his  wife,  and  I  was  sorry  when  she  died,  but  to  tell 
the  candid  truth,  I  didn't  feel  half  as  bad  about  her  death 
as  I  did  when  I  found  out  my  old  father  had  died." 

"  Well,  that  seems  strange,"  said  Bengston,  "  but  then 
you  are  altogether  a  queer  fellow  in  some  respects.  When 
my  wife  informed  me  that  you  were  going  to  marry  Anna 
I  almost  fainted,  and  wrote  her  to  try  to  stop  it,  as  I 
didn't  think  you  two  would  be  able  to  get  along,  Anna 
being  so  old-fashioned  in  many  ways,  and  you  just  the 
opposite." 

"  Yes,  that's  a  fact.  Anna  told  me  you  wrote  some- 
thing of  that  sort,  but  I  don't  blame  you  for  it.  It  was 
your  duty,  in  a  way,  and  you  did  what  you  thought  was 
right.  However,  it  turned  out  all  right,  and  I  only  wish 
my  former  wife  had  liked  me  half  as  well  as  Anna  does. 
If  she  had,  I  wouldn't  have  all  these  grey  hairs  on  my 
head." 

"  That's  very  sad,"  said  Bengston,  "  but  she  wasn't  bad, 
was  she?" 

"  Not  that  I  know  of,"  replied  Swanson,  "  but  there 
was  no  love  in  her ;  that's  about  it,  or  if  there  was,  I  never 
was  able  to  locate  it.  I  married  her  just  after  the  Civil 
War.  She  had  been  a  hospital  nurse  down  at  Key  West, 
and  it  was  there  I  first  met  her.  I  was  in  the  U.  S.  Navy, 
and  she  took  care  of  me  a  few  days,  I  being  sick  with 
fever,  and  I  also  had  a  slight  wound.  When  the  war  was 


160  YANKEE    SWANSON 

over  I  joined  the  merchant  service  again,  and  having  my 
eye  on  the  nurse,  I  made  use  of  some  references  I  had 
from  the  navy,  and  had  no  trouble  in  getting  positions  in 
the  steamships  running  on  the  coast.  The  pay  was  good, 
and  we  decided  to  marry.  I  say  l  we,'  because  I  want 
you  to  understand  that  I  took  care  to  make  her  acquainted 
with  how  I  was  fixed  financially  and  otherwise. 

"  Well,  we  married  and  went  to  housekeeping,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  I  having  rented  a  little  cottage  in  Hoboken.  I 
was  at  that  time  first  officer  on  a  passenger  steamer  run- 
ning from  New  York  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  there 
I  met  and  got  acquainted  with  many  fine  people,  who 
sometimes  would  invite  my  wife  and  me  to  call  at  their 
homes.  Now  of  course,  I  didn't  have  a  great  amount  of 
polish.  That  is  not  to  be  expected  from  a  fellow  who  has 
been  roughing  it  all  his  life;  at  the  same  time  that's  no 
excuse  for  not  acting  the  part  of  a  gentleman,  and  I  know 
for  a  certainty  that  these  very  people  who  were  kind 
enough  to  invite  me  to  sit  at  their  table,  knew  pretty  near 
who  they  were  inviting.  In  short,  I  was  nobody's  fool, 
and  what  I  lacked  in  polish  I  more  than  made  up  in  other 
ways. 

"  Such  being  the  case,  was  there  any  reason  why  my 
wife  should  not  accept  the  invitation?  I  was  always 
asked  to  bring  her,  and  she  knew  it  would  have  made  me 
happy,  but  she  always  declined,  giving  reasons  which  at 
times  were  most  galling.  Sometimes  it  would  be  her 
clothes  that  were  at  fault, —  not  the  latest  in  fashion. 
Then  again  she  was  afraid  that  I  would  say  something  that 
was  not  exactly  so,  and  she  would  be  so  ashamed ;  in  other 
words,  she  always  ha4  to  keep  her  weather-eye  on  me,  for 
fear  I  should  make  a  break  and  that  was  very  trying  for 
her.  In  short,  she  wanted  and  required  a  little  recreation, 
and  that  was  out  of  the  question  if  she  had  to  travel  with 
her  husband.  She  had  any  amount  of  friends  of  her  own 


YANKEE    SWANSON  161 

who  would  come  and  go,  and  sometimes  stay  until  the 
small  hours  of  the  morning.  I  didn't  like  that,  and  on  one 
occasion  I  forgot  myself  to  the  extent  of  throwing  the  lot 
of  them  out  through  doors  and  windows.  But  that  didn't 
improve  matters  any;  if  anything,  it  became  worse.  She 
accused  me  of  having  no  manners,  and  after  a  while  it 
seemed  as  if  I  was  not  wanted  except  when  I  brought 
home  my  pay,  when  she  would  perhaps  crack  a  smile,  and 
by  way  of  being  sociable  she  would  ask  if  that  was  all. 

"  Well,  I  stood  it  all  as  best  I  could,  but  it  was  hard 
lines.  I  tried  everything  in  my  power  to  make  her  com- 
fortable. I  gave  up  smoking  and  deprived  myself  of  a 
glass  of  beer,  so  as  to  be  able  to  give  her  every  dollar  I 
made,  barring  a  little  I  had  to  have  to  pay  for  my  washing 
and  clothes  to  wear ;  but  all  to  no  purpose,  as  far  as  making 
my  existence  a  little  more  homelike.  In  this  manner  we 
drifted  apart  further  and  further,  until  something  hap- 
pened that  finally  put  an  end  to  our  miserable  domestic 
troubles. 

"  It  was  on  a  Sunday  morning,  and  I  was  on  my  way 
to  Hoboken  to  turji  over  my  little  pay  to  my  wife, 
when  I  met  her  and  some  of  her  friends  at  the  Barclay 
street  ferry.  She  appeared  to  be  happy  to  see  me,  and 
asked  me  to  join  them,  as  they  were  going  over  to  Staten 
Island  on  a  picnic.  I  gave  some  excuse,  well  knowing 
that  I  would  be  in  the  way.  I  did  give  her  my  money, 
though,  not  wishing  to  appear  dissatisfied  with  the  way 
she  treated  me.  She  thanked  me  for  it,  something  she  had 
not  done  for  some  time,  and  she  even  went  so  far  as  to 
say  she  would  like  to  give  me  a  kiss,  which  of  course  was 
out  of  the  question  considering  that  we,  were  on  the  street. 
Altogether  she  acted  strange  —  at  least  it  struck  me  that 
way,  or  perhaps  it  was  only  my  fancy,  considering  what 
happened  just  after  we  parted.  However,  I  have  always 
felt  better  about  the  affair  on  account  of  having  parted 


162  YANKEE    SWANSON 

friends,  because  it  turned  out  to  be  the  last  time  we  ever 
saw  one  another. 

"  She  and  her  friends  took  a  West  street  car  and  I, 
having  no  particular  place  to  go,  strolled  down  along 
West  street  toward  Castle  Garden.  Arriving  at  Battery 
Park,  I  met  a  friend  and  we  sat  down  for  a  chat.  How 
long  we  sat  there  I  can't  remember  now,  but  my  friend 
remarked  that  I  was  absent-minded,  and  I  was  about  to 
tell  him  something  about  having  met  my  wife,  when  we 
were  almost  hurled  out  of  our  seats  by  a  fearful  explosion 
that  took  place  in  the  neighbourhood. 

"  People  started  to  run  toward  the  ferry-landing,  shout- 
ing that  the  Staten  Island  ferry-boat  had  blown  up.  My 
friend  and  I  joined  the  crowd,  but  upon  arriving  at  the 
ferry  we  could  proceed  no  further,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  police  were  there  in  force,  preventing  the  crowd  from 
boarding  what  had  once  been  a  ferry-boat. 

"  The  boat,  loaded  with  pleasure  seekers,  my  wife  and 
her  friends  among  them,  was  blown  into  the  hereafter 
just  as  they  were  ready  to  start.  The  cause  of  it  will 
never  be  known,  as  everybody  in  authority  was  killed,  to- 
gether with  nearly  all  the  passengers,  human  limbs  scat- 
tered all  over  the  neighbourhood,  and  also  their  belongings. 
I  went  to  the  morgue  the  next  day  to  try  to  identify  any- 
thing having  belonged  to  my  wife,  and  there  found  her 
purse,  the  only  thing  I  could  recognise.  The  money  I  had 
given  her  in  the  morning  was  in  the  purse,  but  I  refused 
to  take  it  back,  why,  I  can't  say.  I  felt  so  queer  about  it, 
I  did  not  even  go  back  to  the  house  in  Hoboken,  for  I 
looked  upon  it  as  haunted,  and  made  arrangements  with 
the  landlord,  who  was  an  honest  man  and  felt  sorry  for 
me,  to  dispose  of  everything,  which  he  did  and  returned 
me  the  money." 

I  had  become  so  interested  in  Mr.  Swanson's  tale  that  I 
forgot  all  about  the  steering,  and  the  first  thing  I  knew, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  163 

up  she  came  in  the  wind,  the  royals  and  gallant  sails  mak- 
ing a  great  racket.  Swanson  let  a  yell  out  of  him  that 
fairly  frightened  me  out  of  my  boots,  at  the  same  time 
lending  me  a  hand  to  put  the  helm  hard  up  to  prevent  her 
from  being  caught  aback.  I  felt  decidedly  ill  at  ease  be- 
cause the  old  Forsette  proved  to  be  very  stubborn  on  this 
occasion  and  wouldn't  pay  off.  It  became  necessary  for 
Swanson  to  order  the  foreyards  aback,  after  which  she 
paid  off.  Swanson  gave  me  a  scolding  for  being  so  care- 
less, and  I  promised  not  to  let  it  occur  again. 

The  trip  to  Archangel  proved  to  be  a  long  and  tedious 
one.  We  were  three  weeks  getting  to  the  ]^orth  Cape, 
and  in  that  time  we  encountered  all  sorts  of  weather,  from 
a  gale  of  the  worst  kind  to  a  dead  calm. 

I  well  remember  my  first  gale  at  sea.  For  two  days  we 
were  hove  to  under  a  storm,  forestaysail  and  a  trysail  set 
on  the  main.  She  lay  there  like  a  duck,  not  shipping  a 
drop  of  water.  The  wheel  was  lashed  down  the  greater 
part  of  the  time,  because  she  made  no  headway,  but  her 
leeway  was  considerable,  and  it  worried  Captain  Bengston 
a  good  deal,  because  the  high  mountains  were  in  full  view 
on  the  lee  side. 

One  evening,  after  eight  bells,  all  hands  were  called  on 
deck  to  wear  ship.  Jack  and  I  had  never  seen  that  evolu- 
tion before,  so  of  course  we  became  intensely  interested. 
It  was  blowing  a  fresh  N  W  gale  at  the  time,  and  the  sea 
was  running  very  high.  Orders  were  given  to  brail  in 
the  trysail  and  to  set  taut  on  the  weather  forestaysail  sheet. 
That  order  executed,  the  old  ship  commenced  to  fall  off, 
until  she  had  the  sea  and  wind  abeam,  when  she  refused  to 
go  any  further.  The  staysail  sheet  was  slacked  off  until 
the  sail  bellowed  out  like  a  balloon,  but  no  use.  There 
she  lay,  and  the  rolling  that  she  did  is  beyond  description. 
Swanson  suggested  to  the  captain  that  we  set  the  lower 
foretopsail  to  get  her  off  before  the  wind,  but  Bengston, 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

being  afraid  that  the  topsail  wouldn't  stand  being  sheeted 
home  in  that  gale,  was  for  hoisting  a  jib,  and  accordingly 
Swanson  ordered  me  out  to  loose  the  jib. 

I  had  no  sooner  got  the  gasket  off  the  jib  than  the  sheet 
was  hauled  taut,  and  some  of  the  hands  hoisting  away  at 
the  same  time,  up  went  the  jib  with  a  roar,  and  the  ship 
started  to  pay  off  until  she  got  the  wind  on  the  quarter. 
Then  owing  to  the  bad  condition  of  the  stay,  it  carried 
away  with  a  snap  and  off  to  leeward  went  the  jib  like  a 
thousand  butterflies.  Luckily  the  old  ship  did  not  broach 
to  again.  She  paid  off  before  the  wind  and  we  squared 
in  our  yards  and  finally  we  braced  up  on  the  port  braces 
and  brought  her  to  again  on  the  starboard  tack,  by  means 
of  a  tarpaulin  that  we  unrolled  in  the  mizzen  rigging. 

While  lying  in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  before  we  got  the 
jib  on  her,  the  ballast,  consisting  principally  of  round 
stones,  shifted,  thus  giving  all  hands  a  couple  of  hours 
hard  work  trimming  the  stones  over  to  the  other  side. 
And  in  addition,  Swanson,  as  an  extra  precaution,  made 
us  put  in  some  shifting  boards  to  prevent  future  occur- 
rences of  that  sort. 

Having  secured  the  ballast,  the  watch  off  duty  went 
below,  while  the  watch  on  deck  was  put  to  work  to  set  up 
a  temporary  stay  and  also  to  bend  another  jib.  Herald, 
our  new  sailor,  proved  to  be  a  first  class  seaman,  and  be- 
tween Swanson  and  himself,  assisted  by  me  and  another 
greenhorn,  we  had  the  stay  up  and  another  jib  bent  before 
the  watch  was  up. 

Having  finished  the  job,  we  all  went  into  the  galley  to 
get  a  cup  of  hot  coffee.  Mr.  Swanson,  seeing  that  we  had 
no  bread  and  butter,  told  me  to  go  aft  with  him,  and  to 
use  his  expression,  "  I  will  dig  you  up  some,"  he  handed 
me  a  big  dish  full  of  fine  pilot-house  bread  and  a  big  chunk 
of  good  butter,  which  I  took  forward  to  the  boys,  and  we 
enjoyed  the  repast  immensely.  Swanson  came  into  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  165 

galley  and  had  a  biscuit  and  a  cup  of  coffee.  It  was 
something  out  of  the  ordinary  for  him  to  mingle  with 
the  men,  but  he  was  tired  and  used  up.  The  poor  fellow, 
like  the  rest  of  us,  stood  very  much  in  need  of  something 
to  brace  him  up. 

The  following  day  the  wind  came  out  from  the  south- 
'erd,  which  made  it  fair  for  us.  We  lost  no  time  getting 
on  the  canvas,  but  owing  to  the  still  heavy  northerly  swell, 
Captain  Bengston  would  not  allow  Swanson  to  set  the  gal- 
lant sails,  as  she  was  continually  putting  the  bows  under, 
and  he  was  afraid  that  something  would  come  down  by  the 
run. 

I  was  at  the  wheel  that  morning  and  overheard  the  con- 
versation between  them.  Swanson  allowed  that  if  we 
didn't  press  on  while  we  had  a  chance,  we  ran  the  risk  of 
being  frozen  in  at  Archangel,  "  and  if  we  are,"  he  said, 
"  you  stand  a  show  of  losing  your  chance  of  getting  the  new 
command." 

"  I  don't  care  if  I  lose  twenty  commands  by  not  getting 
there  quick  enough,"  replied  the  skipper,  "  I  am  not 
going  to  lose  the  one  I  have  by  acting  the  Flying  Dutch- 
man ;  that  sort  of  sailing  is  very  well  in  your  Flying  Scuds 
and  Young  Americas,  where  they  don't  care  if  they  lose  a 
watch  of  sailors  overboard  so  long  as  they  have  some 
devilish  deed  to  brag  about  when  they  get  out  to  San 
Francisco." 

Swanson  didn't  say  anything  more  about  the  gallant 
sails.  I  guess  he  thought  the  old  man  was  in  the  right, 
and  as  the  wind  kept  on  increasing  from  the  south'erd  and 
the  northerly  swell  gradually  went  down  by  mutual  con- 
sent, they  had  everything  set  and  drawing  along  toward 
noon. 

This  southerly  wind  lasted  until  we  sighted  North  Cape. 
There  for  several  days  we  had  light  variable  winds  and 
several  spells  of  calm.  We  had  lots  of  company;  I  re- 


166  YANKEE    SWANSON 

member  one  day  I  counted  twenty  vessels  becalmed  within 
a  radius  of  ten  miles.  While  we  were  in  this  plight  we 
did  a  lot  of  fishing.  Cod  was  plentiful,  and  we  also  har- 
pooned several  blackfish,  but  their  meat  was  not  very  tasty. 

The  harpoon  with  line  attached  was  always  in  readiness 
on  the  fo'cs'le  head,  and  our  cook,  who  prided  himself  on 
being  a  first  class  hand  in  the  whaling  business,  would 
frequently  walk  up  on  the  fo'cs'le,  pick  up  the  harpoon 
and  examine  it  with  a  critical  eye ;  then  he  would  dart  it 
out  at  sea  in  a  salf-satisfied  manner  to  illustrate  how  it  is 
done,  and  wind  up  by  telling  us  how  happy  he  would  be  if 
by  chance  a  beluga  (white  whale)  would  come  near  enough 
to  enable  him  to  show  us  the  real  thing.  One  day  he 
got  what  he  had  been  looking  for,  and  it  nearly  cost  him 
his  life.  We  were  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Cape,  be- 
calmed, and  it  was  a  fine,  sunny  day.  I  was  on  the  fore- 
topsail  yard  making  up  a  gasket  that  had  come  adrift. 
While  so  doing  I  counted  the  vessels  becalmed  all  around 
us,  some  of  them  quite  near, —  in  fact  I  could  read  their 
names.  The  whales  were  unusually  plentiful  also,  espe- 
cially the  belugas,  and  I  thought,  what  a  chance  this  is  for 
the  cook. 

The  cook's  thoughts  must  have  run  in  a  similar  strain, 
because  he  came  out  of  his  galley  with  a  move  on  as  though 
something  unusual  was  to  take  place.  At  first  I  thought 
that  the  word  had  been  passed  around  that  the  main  brace 
was  to  be  spliced,  and  that  the  cook  had  received  orders 
to  dig  out  the  bottle,  which  he  always  did  on  such  occa- 
sions, but  when  I  saw  that  he  directed  his  movements  to- 
ward the  fo'cs'le  head  I  knew  that  something  else  was  on 
his  mind,  and  I  knew  when  I  saw  him  pick  up  the  harpoon 
and  survey  it  critically  that  I  was  in  for  a  treat.  Being 
on  the  foretopsail  yard,  I  had  a  most  excellent  opportunity 
to  observe  his  actions ;  in  fact  I  was  the  only  member  of  the 
watch  who  saw  it,  the  others  being  occupied  elsewhere, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  167 

and  Mr.  Swanson  was  busy  watching  the  sun  for  a  merid- 
ian altitude. 

The  dog,  Napoleon,  observing  the  cook's  unusual  rapid 
movements,  undoubtedly  thought  that  he  was  up  to  some 
mischief  for  his  benefit  (he  had  never  forgotten  the  intro- 
duction at  Grotto)  and  thought  it  worth  while  watching 
him,  and  with  that  object  in  view  he  skipped  up  on  the 
fo'cs'le  head  and  took  a  seat  at  a  respectful  distance.  The 
cook,  observing  him,  cast  his  evil  eye  on  him,  but  made  no 
further  demonstration  except  to  point  the  harpoon  at 
Nap,  who  seemed  to  totally  disregard  the  cook's  action. 
Evidently  he  had  as  poor  an  opinion  of  the  cook's  ability 
with  the  harpoon  as  the  rest  of  the  crew.  Getting  some- 
what angry  at  the  dog's  insinuating  silent  contempt,  he 
turned  his  back  on  him  and  with  longing  eyes  gazed  upon 
a  school  of  lazy  belugas  slowly  approaching  the  vessel. 

He  held  the  harpoon  in  the  customary  fashion,  which 
he  had  so  often  proclaimed  to  be  the  proper  way,  but  on 
this  occasion,  and  as  evidence  to  show  that  he  never  in- 
tended or  expected  to  strike  a  beluga  when  darting  the 
harpoon,  I  will  state  that  he  stood  with  both  his  feet  upon 
the  line  that  was  flaked  down  on  the  deck  ready  to  run  out 
without  fouling.  The  beluga  broke  water  not  fifty  feet 
away  from  the  bow  of  the  vessel  and  the  cook  let  fly  the 
harpoon  in  a  most  careless,  matter-of-fact  way,  but  with 
the  astonishing  result  of  landing  right  in  the  back  of  the 
whale.  From  my  lofty  position  I  could  see  that  the  har- 
poon buried  itself  very  deep,  and  it  must  have  been  very 
painful  to  the  whale,  because  he  started  off  at  a  speed  that 
made  the  line  smoke  as  it  passed  out. 

I  never  saw  a  more  astonished  man  than  our  brave  cook. 
He  stood  there  as  though  rooted  to  the  deck,  regardless  of 
the  line  flying  about  his  ears  and  legs.  Finally,  realising 
what  a  dangerous  position  he  was  in,  he  proceeded  to  extri- 
cate himself  by  kicking  and  throwing  his  arms  about  like 


168  YANKEE    SWANSON 

a  mad  man,  and  at  times  uttering  most  unearthly  yells. 
Things  began  to  look  real  serious  for  the  cook,  and  I  slid 
down  a  backstay,  thinking  of  rendering  some  assistance  to 
the  poor  cook,  but  when  I  arrived  on  the  scene,  things  had 
changed  for  the  worse. 

Napoleon,  being  a  sensitive  dog,  took  offence  at  the 
cook's  carryings  on  and  proceeded  to  attack  the  poor  man's 
legs.  This  complicated  matters  for  the  cook,  and  in  an 
unguarded  moment  a  wicked  bight  of  the  line  ensnared 
the  cook's  legs,  as  well  as  the  dog's  neck,  and  over  the  star- 
board bow  they  went  like  lightning,  in  the  wake  of  the 
speedy  beluga, 

Swanson,  aroused  by  the  awful  yelling  of  the  cook,  ar- 
rived on  the  scene,  and  with  his  customary  presence  of 
mind,  he  cut  the  line,  the  end  having  been  belayed  to  a 
ringbolt  on  deck.  It  was  fortunate  that  he  thought  of 
doing  this,  as  the  line  was  nearly  out,  and  if  the  whale 
had  brought  up  on  the  line,  undoubtedly  man  and  dog 
would  have  been  torn  to  pieces.  This  unusual  racket 
brought  Captain  Bengston,  as  well  as  the  watch  below,  on 
deck.  Orders  were  given  to  get  a  boat  in  the  water.  The 
sea  was  perfectly  smooth,  and  as  there  wasn't  a  breath  of 
air  stirring,  nothing  could  be  done  with  the  vessel  toward 
directing  her  to  our  unfortunate  cook  and  dog. 

We  had  a  small  dingy  hanging  in  the  davits  aft,  and 
under  Swanson's  direction  we  very  soon  had  it  in  the 
water.  Captain  Bengston,  who  had  been  observing  the 
whale's  movements  with  the  binoculars,  informed  Ericson, 
who  was  in  charge  of  the  dingy,  just  as  we  shoved  off,  that 
the  cook  evidently  had  cut  the  line,  as  he  could  see  the  two 
unfortunates  swimming  toward  the  ship.  This  was  good 
news,  and  we  struck  out  with  a  will  toward  a  dark  object 
in  plain  view.  The  whale  had  been  very  considerate  in- 
deed ;  instead  of  keeping  on  a  straight  course,  he  confined 
himself  to  traverse  sailing,  with  the  result  that  when  lie 


YANKEE    SWANSON  169 

got  rid  of  his  tow  he  was  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  away  from  the  ship. 

As  we  approached  the  objects,  we  saw  to  our  great  satis- 
faction that  they  both  were  alive.  Nap  started  to  bark 
in  a  feeble  sort  of  way,  and  the  cook,  with  both  of  his 
hands  resting  on  the  dog's  hind  quarters,  and  by  flapping 
his  elbows  and  kicking  with  his  feet,  managed  to  keep 
afloat,  and  at  the  same  time  not  endangering  the  strength 
of  the  dog,  who  on  this  occasion  certainly  was  the  saviour 
of  his  life. 

The  soft-hearted  Ericson  grabbed  the  cook  by  the  neck 
and  the  small  of  the  back,  and  with  one  jerk  lifted  the 
cook  into  the  dingy  and  landed  him  not  very  softly  — 
more  like  a  side  of  beef  —  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  He 
also  told  the  cook  that  he  deserved  to  drown  for  being  so 
foolish  as  to  lose  a  brand-new  coil  of  rope  and  the  only 
harpoon  in  the  ship. 

I  treated  Nap  a  little  differently,  and  he  appreciated  it 
by  insisting  on  licking  my  hands  and  ears  as  we  pulled 
back  to  the  ship.  As  we  got  near  to  the  ship,  Jack, 
who  was  standing  beside  the  captain  on  the  poop,  shouted 
out,  "  Nap."  The  dog  pricked  up  his  ears  and  jumped 
overboard  and  swam  to  the  ship.  Jack  slipped  down  and 
put  a  rope  around  him  and  hauled  him  on  board  before  we 
had  the  cook  safely  landed. 

The  cook,  poor  fellow,  was  in  a  bad  shape,  awful  bruises 
everywhere.  He  couldn't  speak  for  hours  after  we  got 
him  on  board.  He  made  signs  that  he  required  medicine 
inwardly,  and  he  did  not  appeal  in  vain.  The  captain 
poured  it  down  very  freely  indeed  so  much  so  that  the 
cook  did  not  come  to  for  twenty-four  hours.  After  such  a 
long,  refreshing  sleep  he  felt  much  better,  but  it  was  days 
before  the  cook  was  fit  to  do  duty  again. 

Captain  Bengston  and  Swanson,  in  fact  everybody  in 
the  ship,  recognised  the  bravery  and  great  presence  of  mind 


170  YANKEE    SWANSON 

of  the  cook,  who,  under  such  desperate  circumstances  suc- 
ceeded in  drawing  the  knife  and  cutting  the  rope,  thereby 
saving  his  own  life  as  well  as  the  dog's,  and  as  a  matter 
of  course,  Jack  and  I  began  to  appreciate  his  bloodcurd- 
ling tales,  thinking  that  perhaps  after  all  there  was  some 
truth  in  them.  The  cook  never  liked  to  talk  about  this 
little  experience  with  the  whale,  and  he  blamed  me,  who 
had  been  the  only  witness,  for  putting  a  wrong  construc- 
tion on  the  whole  thing. 

"  In  the  first  place  I  never  intended  to  drive  the  har- 
poon home  as  hard  as  I  did,"  said  the  cook,  "  but  when  I 
saw  my  mistake,  and  knowing  what  a  measly  lot  I  had  to 
deal  with,  such  as  Bengston  and  Yankee  Swanson,  who 
would  never  quit  growling  about  having  lost  the  line  and 
the  harpoon,  I  decided  to  recover  it,  if  possible,  and  with 
that  intention  in  view,  I  jumped  overboard  and  mounted 
Mr.  Beluga,  and  if  it  hadn't  been  for  that  dog,  who  at- 
tacked me  in  the  rear  I  should  have  succeeded  in  getting 
the  line  and  harpoon  back,  as  I  had  the  harpoon  nearly 
pulled  out  of  him  when  he  sounded. 

"  Of  course  after  he  sounded,"  went  on  the  cook,  "  it 
was  out  of  the  question  to  recover  the  harpoon,  so  I  drew 
the  knife  and  cut  the  line,  and  intended  bringing  it  back 
to  the  ship,  but  seeing  the  miserable  Napoleon  on  the  point 
of  passing  in  his  checks,  I  thought  I  would  better  give  him 
a  lift,  as  it  is  bad  luck  to  let  a  sea  dog  or  a  black  cat  drown. 
I  therefore  turned  the  line  over  to  Davy  Jones  and  saved 
the  miserable  brute,  that  really  was  the  cause  of  all  the 
trouble." 

The  following  day,  after  the  whaling  episode,  the  For- 
sette  still  drifting  about  with  a  little  catspaw  now  and 
again,  we  came  very  near  to  a  little  homeward  bound  from 
Archangel.  Captain  Bengston  thought  it  a  good  idea  to 
lower  a  boat  and  despatch  Mr.  Swanson  over  to  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  171 

stranger  and  try  to  buy  or  borrow  some  liniment  for  the 
cook's  and  the  dog's  use. 

Swanson  took  Jack  and  me  along  as  boat  pullers.  The 
vessel's  name  was  Sea  Lark,  London,  and  she  was  bound 
for  Grangemouth.  A  hand  threw  us  a  line  as  we  got 
alongside,  and  Swanson  scrambled  up  hand  over  hand  like 
an  acrobat.  Swanson  told  us  to  shove  off  and  lay  on  the 
oars  until  wanted,  but  after  a  few  minutes  he  ordered  us 
to  come  alongside  again  and  to  pass  the  painter  on  board. 
That  done  he  beckoned  me  to  come  on  board,  which  I  did 
in  the  manner  of  Swanson. 

I  found  Swanson  and  the  captain  of  the  brig  engaged 
in  conversation,  and  heard  Swanson  tell  the  captain  to  ask 
me  a  few  questions  so  that  he  could  inform  the  Duncans 
at  Grangemouth  what  use  I  had  made  of  the  schoolbooks 
they  had  so  kindly  given  me.  I  felt  a  little  uneasy  about 
the  matter.  It  was  sprung  so  suddenly  that  I  was  afraid 
I  would  make  a  mess  of  it  by  not  being  able  to  do  justice 
to  my  hard  studying  and  to  Swanson's  patience  with  me. 
However,  the  captain  plied  me  with  a  lot  of  questions  and 
I  felt  fine  when  he  told  me  that  I  had  answered  them  all 
correctly,  and  that  he  would  give  a  good  account  of  me  to 
the  Duncans,  especially  Betsey.  Swanson,  being  in  a  good 
humour,  started  to  relate  to  the  captain  the  experience 
Betsey  and  I  had  with  the  cook,  and  at  this  he  laughed 
heartily,  and  then  Swanson  wound  up  by  asking  him  not  to 
forget  to  inform  everybody  in  Grangemouth  about  the 
cook's  latest  adventure  in  the  whaling  business.  Having 
received  a  bottle  of  arnica  from  the  captain,  we  shoved  off 
and  returned  to  the  old  Forsette. 

A  little  breeze  sprung  up  from  the  westward,  and  we 
squared  away  before  it,  dipping  our  ensign  to  the  Sea 
Lark  as  we  parted  company.  The  cook  being  out  of  com- 
mission for  the  time  being,  it  became  necessary  to  detail 


172  YANKEE    SWANSON 

somebody  to  attend  to  the  cooking.  Our  crew  being  small 
in  the  first  place,  and  still  further  curtailed  by  having 
Jack  and  I  in  place  of  men,  made  it  a  hardship  for  the 
rest  of  the  crew  when  anybody  happened  to  get  out  of 
commission.  True,  it  was  something  that  very  seldom 
occurred  on  board  the  Forsette;  we  could  trust  Swanson 
and  Ericson  to  see  that  there  was  no  loafing.  It  was  not 
like  some  British  vessels  I  have  known,  where  they  make 
it  a  point  to  have  one  or  two  men  on  each  watch  laid  up 
every  day  for  a  whole  round  voyage  to  China  and  back; 
in  fact,  they  took  turn  about  at  it,  as  regularly  as  they  re- 
lieved the  wheel  and  the  lookout.  Swanson  had  been  too 
long  in  America  to  stand  for  anything  as  raw  as  that,  and 
his  right-hand  bower,  Ericson,  had  been  converted  to  Swan- 
son's  way  of  thinking  to  such  a  degree  that  it  was  a  hard 
matter  to  decide  who  of  the  two  was  the  most  Yankeefied. 

Anyway,  I  was  at  the  wheel  when  the  old  man  held  a 
counsel  of  war  with  his  two  mates  regarding  making  some 
arrangement  about  the  cooking,  until  the  cook  should  be 
able  to  resume  his  duties.  Swanson  spoke  up  and  said 
that,  as  far  as  getting  something  to  eat  was  concerned, 
Herald,  who  was  the  best  and  handiest  man  forward,  no 
doubt  would  make  the  best  cook,  but  then  again  that  would 
be  a  serious  drawback,  as  the  sailorising  would  suffer 
through  it,  as  he  was  the  only  man  forward  who  was  worth 
anything.  Captain  Bengston  argued  that  Swanson  was 
not  using  good  sense  when  he  thought  of  making  Herald 
cook,  as  he  considered  that  cooking  and  eating  were  only 
minor  affairs  anyhow  on  board  a  vessel,  and  that  he  thought 
that  we  should  be  able  to  g'et  along  with  most  anything  for 
a  cook  until  we  got  into  port. 

Ericson  did  not  concur  with  either  of  his  superiors ;  he 
did  not  see  anything  seriously  wrong  with  the  cook,  and 
was  for  putting  him  to  work  at  once;  in  fact,  he  thought 
that  the  cook  was  shamming.  "  I  know  for  a  fact  that  he 


YANKEE    SWANSON  173 

is  not  so  badly  off  as  I  was  when  I  broke  my  back  at 
Grotto,"  said  Ericson,  "  and  I  only  laid  up  one  day." 

Bengston  and  Swanson  wouldn't  stand  for  anything  as 
cruel  as  that.  "  I  am  no  doctor,"  said  Bengston,  "  and 
therefore  don't  know  how  badly  hurt  the  cook  is,  but  this 
I  know,  that  the  man  should  be  allowed  to  take  a  few  days 
rest  after  such  an  exciting  whaleback  ride  as  he  had." 

"  Well,"  said  Swanson,  "  the  only  way  out  of  it  that  I 
can  see  will  be  to  make  Jack,  cook  and  the  dog  his  assistant. 
That  ought  to  be  satisfactory  all  around,  as  it  appears  that 
it  is  only  a  minor  affair,  anyhow,  whether  we  get  anything 
to  eat  or  not." 

Ericson  chipped  in  and  volunteered  the  information 
that  if  the  cook  was  only  half  as  good  a  man  as  the  dog 
he  would  have  been  to  work  long  ago,  and  no  need  for  all 
this  talk. 

Jack  was  down  in  the  cabin  putting  things  in  order 
when  Bengston  shouted  to  him  to  come  up  to  take  part  in 
the  conference.  When  asked  by  the  captain  if  he  thought 
he  would  be  able  to  take  charge  in  the  galley  until  the  cook 
got  better,  he  said  that  he  would  be  willing  to  try,  and 
would  do  his  best  to  give  satisfaction. 

Bengston,  by  way  of  giving  Jack  fatherly  advice,  told 
him  to  interview  the  cook  and  get  pointers  from  him  as 
soon  as  the  cook  was  able  to  talk  a  little  better,  which  Jack 
promised  to  faithfully  do. 

And  so,  this  all  important  matter  being  settled,  Jack 
went  forward  and  started  the  fire  under  the  pea  soup 
kettle. 

The  weather  remained  fine  for  several  days,  but  we 
made  very  poor  progress.  We  had  light,  variable  winds 
and  smooth  sea,  and  not  a  bit  of  drift  ice  could  be  seen 
anywhere.  I  wondered  why  it  should  be  so  difficult  to 
get  to  the  ISTorth  Pole ;  is  looked  to  me  as  if  by  shaping  a 
course  true  north,  it  wouldn't  take  long  to  get  there,  as 


174  YANKEE    SWANSON 

there  was  no  sign  of  any  obstacles,  that  we  could  see,  al- 
though we  were  as  far  as  74  degrees  north. 

Ericson  informed  me  one  day  that  he  had  made  a 
cruise  to  Spitzbergen  one  summer,  which  is  in  the  eighties 
north,  and  still  they  had  encountered  very  little  ice.  He 
also  related  a  very  interesting  tale  about  a  polar-bear  hunt 
he  had  been  a  party  to  while  at  Spitzbergen. 

Ericson  was  a  fellow  who  had  had  a  great  deal  of  ex- 
perience, but  mostly  in  northern  waters,  and  through  ignor- 
ance or  prejudice  he  disliked  to  converse  with  people  who 
were  not  posted  on  his  favourite  subjects,  such  as  polar- 
bears,  icebergs,  and  Eskimos. 

Bengston  and  Swanson  on  the  other  hand  preferred  to 
talk  of  the  tropics,  and  many  a  trick  at  the  wheel  has 
passed  away  only  too  quickly,  listening  to  interesting  tales 
of  what  they  had  seen  and  experienced  in  far  away  coun- 
tries. I  remember  one  evening,  Swanson  was  relating  to 
the  captain  of  being  a  sailor  on  a  little  American  vessel 
that  brought  the  first  load  of  railroad  iron  down  to  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  when  the  Americans  first  started  to 
build  the  railroad  there  in  the  early  fifties.  He  also  de- 
scribed the  old  fortifications  at  Puerto  Bello  and  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Chagres  Kiver,  and  it  was  most  interesting  to 
listen  to  him.  A  few  years  afterward  I  visited  the  Isth- 
mus, and  remembering  Swanson' s  account  of  the  different 
places,  I  found  that  he  had  been  most  accurate  in  his 
account  of  it. 

The  cook  improved  a  little  every  day,  slowly  but  surely. 
I  used  to  call  on  him  twice  a  day  and  rub  him  down  with 
arnica.  He  always  criticised  Swanson  for  being  so  short- 
sighted and  mean  as  to  not  get  a  little  stuff  on  the  brig 
that  could  be  used  on  the  inside  as  he  would  have  improved 
much  quicker.  "  I  wish  I  had  a  little  of  that  I  got  from 
the  lord  at  Grotto  for  Ericson  when  he  broke  his  back,"  he 
would  say.  "  But  what  can  you  expect  from  the  likes  of 


YANKEE    SWANSON  175 

them  ?  Arnica,  indeed !  It  makes  me  worse  when  I  think 
of  it.  Arnica  is  no  use  except  for  blistered  feet  and 
chafed  legs.  It  is  used  in  the  army  a  great  deal,  mostly 
in  the  cavalry.  I  wonder  if  that  iceberg  Ericson  thinks 
I  have  been  out  horseback  riding.  I  wish  he  had  been 
with  me  in  place  of  your  friend  Napoleon  when  I  was 
trying  to  jerk  out  that  old  harpoon  that  I  will  never  hear 
the  last  of.  I  wouldn't  have  wasted  any  strength  trying 
to  save  him,  as  I  did  for  your  friend,  but  that  dog  is  worth 
more  to  you  and  me  than  ten  icebergs  like  Ericson." 

I  noticed  that  the  cook  and  the  dog  were  getting  along 
much  better  than  formerly.  I  guess  they  both  realised 
that  they  had  been  in  a  pretty  bad  fix  together,  and  that  it 
was  from  mutual  assistance  that  they  were  alive. 

Jack  did  fairly  well  in  the  galley;  everybody  seemed 
better  satisfied  with  the  food  than  when  the  cook  held 
sway.  Herald,  the  handy  man,  gave  him  some  valuable 
pointers,  and  at  odd  times  he  used  to  help  the  boy  to  clean 
up  the  place.  In  the  evenings  Herald,  Jack,  and  I  would 
sit  in  the  lee  of  the  long-boat,  conversing  in  English,  and 
sometimes  in  Swedish,  the  latter  language  always  pre- 
ferred by  Jack,  as  he  still  had  his  mind  on  going  home  to 
Sweden  on  the  old  Forsette. 

At  last,  one  month  out  from  Grotto  we  made  Archangel 
light.  If  the  wind  had  remained  fair  after  we  sighted 
the  light  we  would  have  arrived  in  the  evening,  but  bad 
luck  still  pursued  us ;  the  wind  came  out  from  the  south, 
which  was  dead  against  us.  This  was  not  the  worst  of  it, 
either,  as  we  soon  found  out.  Captain  Bengston,  to  save 
expenses,  and  time,  decided  a  couple  of  days  prior  to  our 
arrival  at  Archangel  to  throw  the  greater  part  of  the  bal- 
last overboard,  taking  it  for  granted  that  the  light  breeze 
and  fair  wind  we  then  had  would  bring  us  into  port. 
Swanson  objected,  saying  that  if  the  wind  came  out  from 
the  south'erd  she  would  not  stand  up  close  hauled  on  the 


176  YANKEE    SWANSON 

wind  with  the  gallant  sails  on  her.  They  used  some  strong 
language  about  the  matter  and  compromised  by  discharg- 
ing about  half  of  the  ballast. 

When  the  wind  changed  to  the  south'erd,  which  it  did 
very  suddenly,  we  were  going  along  with  everything  set, 
and  as  the  wind  had  been  fair  and  right  after  us  since  dis- 
charging the  ballast,  nobody  had  any  idea  of  how  cranky 
the  old  craft  really  was. 

Immediately  wre  were  caught  aback  Swanson  sang  out 
to  clew  up  the  royals  and  the  gallantsails,  which  was  a  wise 
move  and  saved  us  from  capsizing  then  and  there. 

The  ship  having  gathered  stern  way  and  the  head  sails 
being  set,  she  commenced  to  pay  off.  Bengston  shouted 
to  Swanson  to  man  the  port  braces,  which  wras  done  with 
alacrity,  and  as  the  yards  came  around,  the  vessel  careened 
over  to  such  a  degree  that  the  little  ballast  we  still  had  on 
board  shifted.  Everything  was  confusion,  caused  by  the 
roar  of  the  wind  and  the  flapping  of  torn  canvas,  as  orders 
could  not  be  heard. 

The  cook,  who  had  not  put  foot  on  deck  since  his  famous 
ride,  got  a  move  on  that  would  have  been  a  credit  to  a 
healthy  and  a  much  younger  man  than  he,  and  without 
waiting  for  orders  he  let  go  the  foretopsail  halyards  and 
let  fly  fore  tack  and  sheet.  Swanson  was  white  with  rage, 
too  angry  to  say  anything  to  the  captain  just  then,  even  if 
he  had  had  a  chance  to  do  so,  but  here  was  work  to  be  done 
and  plenty  of  it. 

We  took  in  the  spanker,  and  as  the  headsails  did  not 
blow  away  in  the  squall,  we  succeeded  in  getting  the  For- 
sette  off  before  the  wind,  and  once  more  headed  on  a  course 
for  the  North  Pole. 

She  now  righted  herself  while  before  the  wind  until 
she  had  about  a  ten  degree  list,  and  we  furled  the  sails,  or 
at  least  what  was  left  of  them,  after  which  all  hands, 
except  the  cook  and  the  dog,  went  below  to  trim  ballast. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  177 

That  done,  we  were  called  aft  to  splice  the  main  brace,  and 
the  cook,  thinking  that  he  had  done  enough  to  deserve  a 
little  consideration,  hung  back,  licking  his  chops,  but  in 
such  a  conspicuous  position  that  he  could  not  fail  to  be 
seen  by  the  captain,  who  took  pity  on  him  and  finally 
shouted  to  him  to  come  along  before  it  was  all  gone. 

The  southerly  wind  did  not  last  but  a  couple  of  hours. 
It  seemed  as  if  it  was  all  done  to  teach  the  old  skipper  a 
lesson  to  be  more  careful  in  the  future.  It  came  out  again 
from  the  nor'rd  and  we  squared  away  for  Archangel  once 
more,  but  under  very  easy  canvas. 

At  about  noon  the  following  day  we  anchored  at  a  place 
called  Solombola,  the  port  of  Archangel.  The  port  authori- 
ties came  off  to  receive  the  vessel,  after  which,  with  the 
assistance  of  a  side-wheel  tug,  we  went  to  a  wharf,  where 
we  were  to  take  on  our  cargo.  Before  going  to  the  wharf 
the  Custom  House  officers  detailed  for  duty  on  our  vessel 
instructed  Captain  Bengston  that  no  fire  would  be  allowed 
on  the  ship  while  at  the  wharf.  This  was  a  source  of  an- 
noyance to  Captain  Bengston,  because  he  doubted  if  Jack 
would  be  able  to  manage  the  cooking  on  shore.  He  was 
so  small  and  not  much  of  a  scrapper,  and  Bengston  knew 
that  the  other  cooks  would  take  advantage  of  this  and  rob 
him  of  the  grub.  The  cook  claimed  he  had  taken  a  relapse 
of  the  worst  kind  through  overstraining  himself  when  he 
saved  the  vessel  from  capsizing,  and  if  Captain  Bengston 
insisted  upon  him  doing  any  work  until  he  had  fully  re- 
covered his  health,  he  would  be  obliged  to  sue  the  owners 
for  damages,  and  he  felt  positively  sure  "  that  if  his  case 
was  brought  before  a  Court  of  Admiralty  in  England  he 
would  be  awarded  the  value  of  the  Forsette  and  the  Vic- 
toria cross  also  for  gallantry.  Yankee  Swanson  mustn't 
think  he  is  dealing  with  a  common  Swede  when  he  is  doing 
business  with  this  guy.  I  have  been  around  a  bit  myself 
and  no  mistake  about  it.  I  guess  they  are  a  little  sore 


178  YANKEE    SWANSON 

just  now,  because  the  boy,  although  he  is  doing  remarkably 
well,  I  must  say,  for  a  Frogeater,  can't  mix  up  the  luxuries 
as  I  used  to  do.  But  I  am  glad  of  it;  perhaps  they  will 
appreciate  my  ability  as  a  cook  in  the  future.  But  no, 
that  would  be  expecting  too  much  from  the  likes  of  them. 
They  have  no  gratitude.  Sorry  I  didn't  let  the  old  tub 
turn  turtle;  that  would  have  ended  it.  I  could  always 
have  saved  myself  by  swimming.  We  were  only  about 
twenty  miles  from  snore,  by  my  reckoning,  which  I  always 
find  is  about  ten  miles  nearer  the  mark  than  where  that 
old  boat-hook,  Captain  Bengston,  puts  her.  Anyhow,  the 
distance  from  shore,  a  few  miles  more  or  less,  wouldn't 
matter  much  with  me,  as  we  were  in  a  place  where  the 
belugas  were  as  thick  as  flies,  and  if  you  know  the  ropes  it 
is  an  easy  mater  to  get  a  ride  when  they  are  around." 

This  little  talk  was  meant  for  my  benefit  only,  while 
I  was  rubbing  him  down.  There  was  very  little  left  in 
the  bottle,  and  the  cook  suggested  that  I  keep  what  was 
left  for  Nap,  who  he  said  stood  in  more  need  of  it  than 
he.  "  I  will  try  to  get  a  little  medicine  from  shore  the 
first  chance  I  get,"  he  said,  "  something  for  the  inside 
that  will  fix  me  up  double-quick.  The  trouble  is,  though, 
I  have  no  ready  cash,  and  I  am  sure  that  ungrateful  boat- 
hook  navigator  Bengston  would  rather  give  me  poison 
than  money.  As  for  the  fellows  in  the  fo'cs'le,  I  wouldn't 
waste  breath  asking  them  for  anything,  ungrateful  lot; 
and  me  saving  the  lot  of  them.  That's  what  you  get  for 
being  accommodating.  Of  course  I  don't  want  you  to 
feel  offended  at  what  I  am  saying  about  these  fellows, 
because  no  harm  is  meant  as  regards  yourself  and  little 
Trenchy.  God  forbid  that.  You  boys  are  altogether 
not  in  their  class.  Another  thing,  I  don't  want  you  to 
repeat  what  I  am  putting  you.  wise  to  as  regards  the 
after-guard,  especially  so  while  I  am  in  this  condition, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  179 

It  would  be  an  easy  matter  for  them  now,  considering 
the  shape  I  am  in,  to  do  away  with  me  altogether,  and  it 
wouldn't  be  beyond  them,  believe  me.  Yankee  Swan- 
son  is  an  old  hand  at  that  game,  and  he  knows  it;  there- 
fore you  can  see  what  a  chance  I  have  to  get  a  little  medi- 
cine to  help  me  out.  I  have  been  thinking  the  matter 
over  the  whole  day,  and  the  only  way  out  of  it  that  I 
can  see  would  be  for  you  and  Jack  te  help  me  out  of  my 
troubles  by  making  me  a  present  of  a  dollar  or  two,  or 
whatever  the  price  of  a  bottle  of  good  stuff  happens  to 
be  at  this  place.  It  wouldn't  be  such  an  awful  thing  for 
you  boys  to  do  it,  anyway.  I  remember  when  I  was  a 
boy  I  used  to  do  little  favours  without  being  asked, 
and  I  can't  remember  that  I  ever  have  been  the  loser 
on  that  account.  It  seems  so  natural  and  becoming  for 
young  people  to  do  them  little  things  that  you  always  ex- 
pect it." 

I  felt  sorry  for  the  old  man,  that  he  should  have  gone 
to  so  much  trouble  to  ask  a  little  favour  in  this  round 
about  way,  but  he  told  me  that  it  was  no  trouble  at  all; 
it  was  natural  for  him  to  be  polite;  he  was  a  gentleman 
born,  and  there  was  no  other  way  out  of  it  than  to  act  as 
one,  and  that  was  the  main  reason  that  Swanson  did  not 
like  him. 

I  told  the  cook  that  I  would  call  on  him  in  the  even- 
ing to  give  him  another  rub-down,  and  in  the  meantime 
I  would  interview  Jack  in  regard  to  getting  him  a  bottle 
of  medicine. 

He  thanked  me  profusely  and  predicted  that  there  was 
a  great  future  in  store  for  Jack  and  me,  especially  if  we 
should  happen  to  go  in  for  the  cooking  business,  which  he 
could  see  we  were  cut  out  for. 

My  friend  Jack  was  a  success  as  a  dog  trainer.  From 
the  moment  he  became  the  owner  of  Nap  he  devoted  all 


180  YANKEE    SWANSON 

his  spare  time  toward  teaching  him,  except  such  time  as 
he  was  required  to  learn  Swedish  —  one  hour  every  day 
—  and  Herald  was  the  teacher. 

Our  fuel  stores,  wood  and  coal,  were  kept  in  a  place 
under  the  poop-deck.  A  little  hatch,  large  enough  for 
a  man  to  squeeze  through,  led  down  to  it,  and  Jack  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  Nap  could  be  made  useful  in  helping 
him  out  with  his  work,  which  was  considerably  more  now 
since  he  had  been  promoted  to  cook.  A  few  lessons  was 
all  that  was  needed  to  give  Nap  a  correct  idea  of  what 
was  required  of  him.  He  seemed  to  enjoy  this  new  oc- 
cupation as  a  wood  and  coal  carrier,  coming  along  the 
deck  with  a  piece  of  wood  in  his  mouth,  his  ears  sticking 
up  straight,  and  his  cute  roguish  little  eyes  bespeaking 
fun  and  contentment  to  overflowing.  It  was  a  pleasure 
to  watch  him,  and  if  any  member  of  the  crew  interfered 
with  him  at  work,  he  took  it  as  an  insult  and  would  shy 
quickly  to  one  side  with  a  growl,  plainly  meaning,  "  You 
have  no  sense,"  and  if  interference  continued  he  wouldn't 
hesitate  a  moment,  but  would  drop  the  wood  and  hook 
on  to  the  seat  of  his  pants,  which  on  several  occasions 
made  such  interference  very  destructive  as  well  as  painful. 
It  was  of  no  use  for  any  member  of  the  crew  to  com- 
plain of  the  dog's  viciousness,  as  they  were  pleased  to 
call  it;  when  any  damage  was  done,  Nap  had  powerful 
backing  in  Swanson  and  Ericson.  Nap  took  his  meals  in 
the  cabin  and  was  welcome  to  take  his  little  afternoon 
nap  in  the  captain's  bunk  if  he  felt  that  way,  but  ap- 
parently Nap  did  not  believe  in  too  much  familiarity. 
He  was  rather  an  independent  dog,  and  Jack  was  the 
only  one  who  was  really  what  we  could  call  on  familiar 
terms  with  him,  and  they  were  as  thick  as  thieves.  Nap 
would  not  allow  any  one  to  enter  the  galley  without  a 
growl  as  a  protest,  unless  Jack  intimated  to  the  dog  that 
such  a  fellow  was  all  right. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  181 

Herald,  the  handy  man,  was  a  very  thoughtful  fellow, 
as  well  as  being  of  an  inventive  turn  of  mind.  Mr.  Swan- 
son  had  a  great  deal  of  respect  for  him,  because  Herald 
had  on  several  occasions  made  suggestions  to  Swanson  re- 
garding changes  or  alterations  in  the  running  gear,  and 
Swanson  as  a  rule  acted  upon  them,  with  good  results. 

One  day  Herald  was  watching  the  dog  transporting  a 
pile  of  wood,  piece  by  piece,  to  the  galley,  and  it  struck 
him  that  the  dog  was  doing  too  much  running  for  the 
amount  of  work  he  accomplished,  and  that  improvements 
could  be  made  in  the  transportation  business.  Inter- 
viewing Swanson  about  the  matter,  he  suggested  that  a 
cart  should  be  constructed,  as  well  as  a  harness  made  for 
Nap,  which  would  to  a  great  extent  facilitate  matters  for 
the  dog,  not  so  much  on  board  the  ship,  but  at  Archangel, 
where,  as  Herald  explained  to  Swanson,  the  cooking 
would  have  to  be  done  on  shore  a  long  way  from  the  ship, 
and  a  cart  and  dog  would  be  the  very  thing  wanted  for 
bringing  the  cooking  utensils  back  and  forth.  Swanson 
laughed  and  fell  right  in  line  with  Herald's  proposition, 
and  that  very  day  Herald,  who  was  as  handy  with  car- 
penters' tools  as  he  was  with  a  marlinespike,  commenced 
making  the  cart.  Swanson  undertook  the  harness-mak- 
ing, and  between  the  two  they  kept  it  a  profound  secret, 
and  not  even  Jack,  the  most  interested  party  of  all,  knew 
what  was  being  done,  until  everything  was  complete,  even 
to  the  painting,  which  was  a  work  of  art,  and  the  lettering 
in  bold  type,  Forsette,  on  one  side,  and  "  Jack  Le  Fevre 
and  Nap  "  on  the  other  side  of  the  cart. 

I  wish  I  could  describe  Jack's  looks  and  feelings  when 
Swanson  and  Herald  brought  forth  their  handiwork  and 
presented  him  with  it.  He  was  a  sight  brimful  of  thank- 
fulness and  gratitude.  He  could  find  no  words  to  express 
what  he  felt;  he  only  asked  that  the  training  of  Nap  to 
the  cart  be  left  to  him  and  he  would  vouch  for  complete 


182  YANKEE    SWANSON 

success.  And  to  further  impress  his  two  friends  of  how 
satisfied  he  felt  about  it,  he  spoke  to  Nap  and  made  a 
motion  that  he  wanted  his  whistle,  which  the  dog,  by 
jumping  up  on  the  coal  box  and  standing  on  his  hind  feet, 
produced  from  a  little  shelf,  where  our  former  cook  used 
to  keep  his  pipe.  The  boy  struck  up  one  of  Swanson's 
favourite  break-downs,  which  brought  forth  a  satisfied 
grin  on  old  Swanson's  face.  I  could  see  that  Swanson 
was  almost  tempted  to  take  a  turn  at  the  dancing,  but  he 
refrained  from  doing  so,  thinking,  I  believe,  that  such 
action  on  his  part  would  lower  the  dignity  becoming  an 
officer  of  the  Forsette. 

Very  little  training  was  required  to  break  Nap  to  har- 
ness ;  evidently  it  was  nothing  strange  to  him,  and  he  must 
have  been  in  the  transportation  business  in  Lapland  before 
he  became  a  member  of  our  crew.  At  any  rate,  he  took 
to  it,  as  the  saying  goes,  "  Like  a  duck  to  water,"  and  be- 
fore we  arrived  at  Archangel  he  was  a  past  master  at 
loading  and  unloading  the  cart  and  pulling  it  back  and 
forth  wherever  Jack  directed  him. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  with  the  assistance  of  a 
tug  we  moored  the  vessel  to  a  wharf,  but  not  in  the  usual 
way, —  one  side  to  the  wharf.  In  this  case,  and  under 
the  direction  of  a  pilot  we  put  her  bow  up  against  the 
wharf,  and  by  means  of  a  kedge  anchor  carried  out  aft,  she 
remained  fixed  in  that  position,  which  enabled  us  to  make 
use  of  the  bowports  in  loading  the  vessel  with  lumber. 

Archangel  is  a  very  busy  port  during  the  summer 
months,  and  as  for  its  shipping,  it  ranks  with  the  highest 
in  Europe.  The  exportations  are  mostly  lumber  and 
grain,  but  a  great  deal  of  other  products  as  well,  such  as 
linseed  and  hemp,  are  exported  from  Archangel.  These 
products  are  brought  to  Archangel  on  immense  barges 
from  the  south  of  Russia,  a  distance  of  something  over  a 
thousand  miles.  The  river  Dwina  is  the  medium  by 


YANKEE    SWANSON  183 

which  this  large  traffic  is  carried  on.  It  is  the  Mississippi 
of  Russia,  and  strange  to  say,  the  large  barges  that  I 
have  mentioned,  are  built  to  last  for  the  trip  to  Archangel 
only,  and  upon,  arrival  there  and  after  having  delivered 
their  cargoes  the  barges  are  broken  up  and  disposed  of  for 
firewood.  It  does  not  seem  natural  that  business  could  be 
carried  on  profitably  in  that  crude  way,  but  taking  into 
consideration  the  great  distance,  the  strong  current  in  the 
Dwina  always  running  one  way,  toward  the  Arctic,  and 
the  cheap  labour  and  flimsy  construction  of  the  barges, 
I  myself  believe  that  my  statement  is  right ;  if  not,  I  have 
not  willingly  made  a  misstatement,  because  I  am  only  re- 
peating what  Mr.  Smirenough,  the  Custom  House  officer, 
told  me. 

Archangel,  the  city,  is  situated  about  four  or  five  miles 
further  up  the  bay,  or  the  delta,  of  the  Dwina,  from  where 
the  port  named  Solombola  lies.  It  is  not  much  of  a  city 
as  cities  go.  The  only  conspicuous  thing  that  I  saw  there 
was  an  immense  church  with  a  gilded  dome.  I  was  told 
that  the  church  was  most  beautiful  inside,  but  I  did  not 
venture  in,  although  I  had  a  fine  opportunity  to  do  so,  as 
it  was  Sunday  when  Jack  and  I  visited  the  town,  and 
there  was  a  constant  going  and  coming  of  people  to  and 
from  the  church.  The  principal  reason  we  did  not  enter 
was  that  nearly  every  one  who  did  was  under  the  influence 
of  ill-smelling  liquor  called  vodka;  and  besides,  the  great 
majority  of  the  worshippers  were  such  a  bewhiskered  lot 
that  Jack  and  I  concluded  it  was  not  safe  to  mingle  with 
them. 

Herald,  who  had  been  to  Archangel  before  in  another 
vessel,  advised  us  not  to  go  to  town,  but  we,  boylike,  were 
anxious  to  see  this  strange  place,  and  beside  we  wanted 
to  make  some  purchases  for  Miss  Betsey  Duncan,  and  we 
had  promised  to  help  the  cook  out  with  a  bottle  of  vodka. 

We  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  stores.     They  were  very 


184  YANKEE    SWANSON 

plentiful,  and  kept  principally  by  Jews.  We  had  a  fel- 
low along  with  us  from  Solombola  who  spoke  a  little  Eng- 
lish, and  acted  as  our  guide.  This  was  very  fortunate, 
because  the  Jews  asked  fabulous  prices  for  everything  we 
wanted  to  buy,  and  the  guide  always  reduced  it  one-half, 
but  afterward  we  found  out  that  he  wanted  the  difference 
as  his  share  and  we  had  to  give  it  to  him  too,  for  when 
we  started  to  kick  about  it  he  got  ugly  and  threatened  to 
have  us  banished  to  Siberia. 

Having  finished  our  purchases,  including  the  medicine, 
we  started  for  the  ship.  We  were  hungry  and  wished  to 
spend  another  dollar  on  something  to  eat,  but  everything 
seemed  so  dirty  that  we  lost  all  appetite,  and  considering 
the  fact  that  we  would  have  to  spend  as  much  more  on  our 
honest  guide  for  his  trouble  to  dine  with  us  —  that  or  go  to 
Siberia  for  life  —  it  must  be  conceded  that  we  were  wise 
in  not  lingering  very  long  at  Archangel. 

The  only  respectable  feature  about  Archangel  that  I 
noticed  was  the  fact  that  they  had  a  good  plank  road  the 
whole  way  from  Solombola  to  Archangel.  Consequently 
walking  was  good  and  Jack  and  I  took  our  time,  just 
sauntering  along.  After  having  covered  about  half  the 
distance  our  guide  remarked  that  it  was  a  long  time  be- 
tween drinks.  Jack  pointed  to  a  pool  of  dirty  water  in 
the  tundra  and  asked  him  to  help  himself.  He  evidently 
did  not  like  my  friend's  invitation.  In  fact,  he  became 
very  angry  and  finding  that  Siberia  had  no  terror  for 
such  sailormen  as  Jack  and  I,  he  decided  to  despatch  us 
to  another  place  where  the  climatic  conditions  were  much 
worse  than  Siberia,  and  as  different  as  night  from  day,  if 
we  did  not  hand  over  the  bottle. 

Our  guide  was  a  big  fellow,  and  had  whiskers  all  over 
his  face,  which  made  him  look  very  fierce.  Jack,  who 
carried  the  bottle,  gave  me  an  enquiring  look,  and  at  the 
same  time  both  of  us  surveyed  the  tundras  in  quest  of 


YANKEE    SWANSON  185 

rocks  or  something  equally  handy  to  charge  him  with. 
He  judged  from  our  looks  that  we  undoubtedly  were  con- 
templating something  desperate,  and  decided  to  begin  hos- 
tilities at  once,  so  made  a  grab  for  the  bottle.  Jack  shied 
to  one  side,  and  the  guide  missed  him  and  in  so  doing 
he  stepped  off  the  plank  walk  and  sank  kneedeep  in  the 
tundra.  Seeing  that  our  guide  had  difficulty  in  extri- 
cating himself,  Jack  and  I  started  off  on  a  comfortable 
run  toward  Solombola,  pursued  by  our  bulky  guide,  who 
after  having  got  rid  of  a  lot  of  mire,  developed  a  speed 
that  was  very  discouraging  for  us. 

The  enemy  was  gaining  on  us  gradually,  and  both  Jack 
and  myself  were  thinking  about  Siberia  and  the  other 
place  too,  when  the  unexpected  happened.  In  the  dis- 
tance, on  the  plank  road  and  about  half  a  mile  away,  we 
observed  a  large  man  sauntering  along  toward  us,  and  we 
also  discovered  that  he  had  a  dog  for  a  companion.  We 
increased  our  speed  to  the  full  limit  in  the  expectation  of 
coming  up  with  the  stranger  in  time  to  tell  him  of  our 
troubles  before  the  guide  should  have  time  to  attack 
us. 

The  stranger  was  still  a  long  way  off,  and  the  guide  was 
so  close  on  our  heels  that  we  could  hear  and  almost  feel 
his  breath  on  our  backs,  when  the  dog,  who  turned  out  to 
be  no  other  than  Napoleon,  came  rushing  by  us  at  almost 
lightning  speed,  and  without  giving  us  any  greeting  what- 
soever, attacked  our  bulky  guide,  in  a  very  ferocious  man- 
ner. 

Considering  the  hard  running  of  the  guide  and  the 
fierce  attack  of  the  dog,  credit  should  be  given  to  the 
guide  for  endurance.  He  did  kick  and  strike  out  in  grand 
style  to  ward  off  Nap's  needle-pointed  teeth,  and  with 
some  success  in  the  beginning;  in  fact  he  got  in  one  or 
two  kicks  that  made  Nap  wince,  but  that  was  only  mo- 
mentary, and  made  Nap,  who  was  full  of  ginger,  all  the 


186  YANKEE    SWANSON 

madder.  Nap  soon  discovered  that  it  was  of  little  use  to 
attack  him  on  the  legs,  on  account  of  his  thick  cowhide 
boots,  so  made  a  running  leap  and  got  the  guide  by  the 
throat  and  hung  on  there  like  grim  death.  The  guide 
hollered  for  help,  but  his  voice  was  very  feeble.  Jack 
and  I  started  to  call  off  Nap,  but  he  would  not  listen  to 
reason,  and  it  was  a  lucky  thing  for  the  guide  that  help 
was  near  at  hand  in  the  shape  of  Eric  Ericson,  our  second 
mate,  who  had  all  he  could  do  to  pacify  Nap  by  hitting 
the  dog  with  a  walking  stick. 

The  guide  was  now  perfectly  harmless.  His  hands 
and  throat  were  badly  torn,  and  as  for  clothes,  he  had  none 
left  worthy  of  the  name.  The  boots  were  there,  badly 
marked,  and  taking  it  all  in  all,  he  was  a  sorrowful  sight 
to  behold.  Ericson,  before  we  had  a  chance  to  explain 
matters,  said  that  the  dog  ought  to  be  killed  at  once,  but 
after  he  got  the  facts  of  the  case  he  changed  his  opinion 
in  favour  of  Nap.  Our  guide  tried  to  put  himself  on 
record  as  being  a  highly  respectable  workingman  and 
meant  no  harm.  In  other  words,  our  little  foot  race  that 
had  come  so  abruptly  to  an  end,  was  only  fun  as  far  as 
he  was  concerned,  and  he  intended  to  be  recompensed  in 
some  way  for  the  injuries  received  and  the  loss  of  his 
clothes. 

Ericson  made  it  plain  to  him  that  if  such  was  the  case 
there  would  have  to  be  a  change  in  the  programme,  as  he 
was  no  believer  in  half  measures,  and  proposed  to  let  the 
dog  finish  the  job  so  neatly  begun,  and  with  that  object 
in  view,  Ericson  commenced  to  pet  Nap  and  pointed  a 
finger  toward  the  guide,  which  made  Nap's  hair  stand  on 
end,  a  sure  sign  that  he  was  ready  and  willing  for  another 
go.  The  guide,  seeing  this,  would  stand  for  no  more  talk- 
ing and  turned  his  back  to  us  and  started  to  walk  toward 
Solombola. 

Ericson,  being  a  soft-hearted  man,  and  wanting  to  avoid 


YANKEE    SWANSON  187 

any  more  trouble,  did  not  approve  of  the  guide  going  in 
that  direction  —  Solombola  was  only  about  half  a  mile 
away.  He  figured  that  he  would  go  and  make  a  com- 
plaint to  the  police  office.  Ericson  therefore  told  the 
guide  that  he  would  prefer  him  to  go  back  to  Archangel 
and  if  he  did  not  get  a  move  on  at  once  he  would  let  Nap 
show  him  the  way,  as  well  as  the  speed  he  would  like  to 
see  him  travel  at.  The  guide  looked  about  a  bit,  as  if  in 
expectation  of  assistance,  but  seeing  none,  he  thought  he 
had  better  make  the  best  of  an  already  nasty  piece  of 
business,  and  started  off  toward  Archangel. 

Ericson  and  we  boys  waited  a  while  to  see  if  the  fellow 
would  carry  out  instructions,  and  finding  that  he  halted, 
perhaps  from  fatigue,  Ericson  let  Nap  loose,  and  he  pur- 
sued him  out  of  sight  entirely  and  returned  with  the 
remainder  of  our  guide's  wardrobe  in  his  mouth. 

Thanks  to  Nap  and  Ericson,  our  enemy  became  a  thing 
of  the  past,  and  we  never  saw  or  heard  from  him  again. 
He  had  evidently  had  enough  of  Nap. 

Our  cook  when  told  about  the  little  adventure,  appeared 
to  be  a  very  much  surprised  man,  and  said  that  appear- 
ances are  as  a  rule  very  deceiving.  He  had  made  our 
guide's  acquaintance  at  the  cook-house,  and  had  been  im- 
pressed with  his  gentlemanly  manners  and  language,  and 
for  that  reason  he  had  told  us  to  make  use  of  him  as  our 
guide. 

The  cook  was  a  happy  man  when  we  made  him  a  present 
of  the  medicine,  and  he  improved  wonderfully  while  it 
lasted  —  at  least  his  temperament  did ;  new  lies  were  in- 
vented and  old  ones  improved  upon  until  it  came  to  such 
a  pass  that  we  could  hardly  recognise  them,  and  when  we 
called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  differed  considerably 
from  what  he  had  told  us  before,  he  went  into  explana- 
tions, sometimes  long  and  tedious  ones,  of  how  deceptive 
a  sailorman's  language  is  to  beginners  like  ourselves.  In 


188  YANKEE    SWANSON 

short,  the  lies  were  the  same,  only  that  he  worded  them 
differently  this  time. 

On  account  of  giving  a  meagre  description  of  Archan- 
gel, of  what  I  saw  there,  and  of  our  little  adventure,  I 
am  ahead  of  my  story,  because  we  had  been  in  port  two 
weeks  before  Jack  and  I  made  our  excursion  to  Archangel. 
I  left  off  where  we  had  moored  the  Forsette  bow  on  to  the 
wharf,  and  where  the  cook  had  intimated  to  me  that  there 
would  be  trouble  if  the  captain  had  the  gall  to  ask  him  to 
resume  his  duties.  Captain  Bengston  did  not  ask  the 
cook ;  he  never  bothered  himself  with  such  trifles.  Swan- 
son  always  took  it  upon  himself  to  do  the  asking,  and  the 
result  was  always  satisfactory  from  Bengston's  point  of 
view. 

The  cook  resumed  his  duties  on  the  morning  following 
the  day  of  our  arrival,  but  Swanson  made  it  easy  for  him 
in  this  respect  that  the  cook  was  to  remain  at  the  cook-house 
all  day,  attending  to  the  cooking,  while  Jack  and  Napoleon 
were  detailed  to  do  the  transporting  of  stores,  fuel,  pre- 
pared and  unprepared  food  to  and  from  ship.  On  these 
conditions  only,  the  cook  told  me  afterward,  he  consented 
to  go  to  work.  The  damage  suit,  as  well  as  the  Victoria 
cross  affair,  would  have  to  wait  until  we  got  back  to 
England. 

I  have  stated  before  that  the  port  was  full  of  vessels 
and  of  many  nationalities.  Imagine,  therefore,  a  cook- 
house very  narrow,  but  of  immense  length,  built  on  the 
tundra  about  a  half  a  mile  from  the  shipping.  A  narrow 
plank  walk,  so  narrow  that  the  cooks  had  to  walk  in  single 
file,  led  up  to  it.  At  certain  distances  along  the  plank 
walk  the  cooks  had  for  convenience  constructed  little  plat- 
forms on  which  a  cook,  loaded  down  with  supplies,  could 
take  a  stand  while  a  fellow  coming  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion passed.  This  arrangement  made  a  rule  of  the  road 
necessary,  and  it  was  understood  that  a  cook  homeward 


YANKEE    SWANSON  189 

bound  with  a  cargo  of  prepared  food  had  the  right  of 
way. 

A  story  went  around  that  many  a  cook  and  any  amount 
of  good  pea  soup  and  salt  horse  had  been  listed  as  over- 
due, and  others  again  as  given  up  for  lost  entirely,  caused 
by  collisions  of  cooks  on  this  road. 

I  could  not  keep  from  laughing,  although  it  was  a  mat- 
ter of  moment  with  my  little  friend,  when  Mr.  Swanson 
very  solemnly  told  the  boy  about  the  difficulties  he  would, 
be  expected  to  guard  against. 

"  Be  very  careful  you  don't  get  the  wagon,  off  the  plank 
walk,"  cautioned  Swanson,  "  or  you  will  go  the  way  the 
other  cooks  did,  overdue  or  missing,  while  this  warm 
weather  lasts.  The  tundra  is  very  soft  and  bad,  and  you 
will  have  to  be  extra  careful,  but  we  will  have  frost  in  a 
day  or  two,  and  it  won't  be  necessary  to  use  the  plank  road 
at  all  then ;  all  plain  sailing  right  over  the  tundra.  And 
if  any  of  the  other  cooks  get  gay  with  you,  let  Napoleon 
loose  on  them,  and  I  guess  they  will  get  enough  of  it." 

Jack  said  that  he  thought  that  the  wagon  was  too  wide 
for  the  road.  "  In  that  case  Herald  will  have  to  alter 
it,"  said  Swanson.  "  Bring  it  out  and  see,  so  we  will  be 
in  shape  for  to-morrow." 

After  a  while  Nap,  in  harness  to  the  cart,  and  Jack 
guiding  the  outfit,  were  seen  making  for  the  road  through 
the  lumber  yards.  Every  one  who  happened  to  see  the 
outfit  appeared  to  admire  it.  Some  of  the  cooks  thought 
it  the  very  thing  for  the  place  and  wished  they  had  a  dog 
and  cart  like  it. 

As  yet  they  knew  nothing  about  the  dog,  but  some  of 
them  were  cut  out  to  make  his  acquaintance  in  various 
ways  —  some  very  disagreeable  ways  too  —  before  we  left 
Archangel. 

After  a  while  Jack  returned  with  the  rig.  He  was 
smiling  and  pronounced  everything  0.  K.,  much  better 


190  YANKEE    SWANSON 

than  he  had  expected.  The  road  was  wide  enough  and 
the  platforms  large,  sufficiently  so  for  dog  and  cart. 

Owing  to  the  great  distance  from  the  ship,  the  cook, 
Jack,  and  Nap  started  from  the  ship  at  an  early  hour  in 
order  that  Jack  should  be  able  to  return  with  the  coffee 
before  turn-to  time.  I  happened  to  be  awake  when  the 
cook  made  ready  his  pots,  and  I  turned  out,  as  I  wanted  to 
see  the  caravan  off  for  the  first  time.  I  helped  Jack  to 
get  the  wagon  on  shore  from  a  steep  plank  over  the  bow. 
That  done,  we  took  all  the  necessary  cooking  utensils  on 
shore  and  started  stowing  them  in  the  waggon.  Then  we 
went  on  board  and  got  all  the  stores  that  the  cook  had 
picked  out  for  the  day's  use.  By  careful  stowing  we  got 
it  all  on,  and  it  was  quite  a  respectable  load  for  a  95-pound 
dog  like  Nap.  The  cook  now  came  on  shore  and  took  in 
the  situation  at  a  glance,  whereupon  he  gave  me  a  piece 
of  rope  and  told  me  to  lash  the  load  down  securely.  Siz- 
ing up  the  load,  the  cook  remarked  that  it  must  weigh 
more  than  a  hundred  pounds,  and  if  Nap  got  along  with 
it  all  right  he  intended  that  Nap  should  make  an  extra 
trip  in  the  morning  and  in  the  evening  to  fetch  him  to 
and  from  his  work. 

Jack  thought  that  it  would  be  too  much  work  for  Nap, 
and  that  he  would  break  down  under  the  cook's  weight, 
but  the  cook  pooh-poohed  that,  and  remarked  that  if  he 
thought  it  was  too  much,  no  harm  would  be  done  if  Jack 
pushed  a  little  on  the  wagon  behind.  Jack  became  angry 
and  said  that  the  dog  belonged  to  him  and  that  he  would 
not  stand  for  the  cook  riding  unless  Swanson  gave  orders 
to  that  effect,  as  he  (Swanson)  had  given  him  orders  to 
be  careful  with  dog  and  wagon. 

"  All  right  then,"  said  the  cook,  "  let  us  be  off."  And 
the  caravan  started  for  the  cook-house. 

Everything  went  along  all  right,  and  in  due  time  Jack 
was  back  with  the  coffee.  Swanson  was  out  on  deck  when 


YANKEE    SWANSON  191 

Jack  arrived,  and  they  were  conversing  for  some  little 
time.  Jack  mentioned  that  the  cook  had  proposed  riding 
back  and  forth  like  a  gentleman  cook. 

Having  finished  our  coffee,  Ericson  sang  out,  "  Turn 
to."  All  hands,  including  Mr.  Swanson,  went  below  in 
the  hold  and  started  to  level  out  the  rock  ballast  which  we 
did  not  throw  overboard,  and  to  get  the  hold  ready  to 
receive  lumber.  That  done,  the  port  lashings  were  taken 
off  and  by  means  of  a  battering  ram  we  drove  out  the  bow 
port. 

By  noon  we  were  all  ready  for  business,  and  after  we 
had  had  our  dinner  and  a  smoke  all  hands  were  called  aft 
to  splice  the  main  brace,  Captain  Bengston  himself 
handling  the  bottle,  pouring  out  great  big  drinks  into  a 
small  glass.  The  splicing  finished,  Captain  Bengston  ex- 
plained that,  while  the  loading  was  going  on,  the  main 
brace  would  be  spliced  three  times  a  day,  and  oftener  if 
he  saw  that  the  work  went  on  in  a  way  that  would  warrant 
such  an  enormous  expense. 

"  It  is  this  way,  boys,"  went  on  the  skipper,  throwing 
out  his  chest  and  taking  a  twist  in  his  moustache,  "  to-day 
is  the  first  of  September,  and  on  the  twentieth  of  this 
month  navigation  practically  closes  at  this  place.  Now, 
if  the  cargo  is  not  on  board  by  then  we  either  will  have 
to  sail  without  a  full  load  or  else  run  the  chance  of  getting 
frozen  in  and  remain  here  until  next  June.  Therefore, 
boys,  it  is  my  wish  that  you  all  pitch  in  and  do  your 
living  best  to  help  me  out,  and  you  won't  lose  anything 
by  it."  Herald  was  the  only  one  who  spoke  up,  and 
what  he  said  was  not  much,  but  to  the  point.  He  said 
that  he  could  only  speak  for  himself,  but  he  felt  sure 
that  everybody  was  as  anxious  to  get  away  as  the  captain 
was. 

'Swanson,  not  having  had  much  experience  at  stowing 
lumber,  detailed  Ericson  to  boss  the  stowing  on  the  port 


192  YANKEE    SWANSON 

side,  while  Herald  had  the  honour  to  boss  the  job  on  the 
starboard  side.  With  the  Russians  on  the  dock  we  had 
nothing  to  do,  they  having  their  own  foreman. 

Swanson  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  time  on  the  dock 
with  the  Russians,  giving  them  instructions  regarding  the 
different  sizes  of  lumber  wanted  at  different  times.  They 
were  an  ignorant,  stupid  lot,  and  so  well  supplied  with 
vermin  that  it  was  dangerous  to  get  near  them.  They 
were  continually  scratching,  and  every  now  and  then 
they  would  knock  off  altogether,  sit  down,  and  do  some 
killing.  This  was  very  annoying  to  Swanson,  who  was 
out  there  among  the  Russians  with  the  sole  purpose  of 
keeping  our  men  well  supplied  with  lumber.  He  spoke  to 
their  foreman  about  it  in  a  friendly  way,  not  wishing  to 
get  on  bad  terms  with  them,  as  they  proved  to  be  a  stub- 
born lot,  but  the  foreman  explained  that  there  was  no 
remedy  for  it  that  he  knew  of ;  scratching  was  a  necessary 
evil  in  Russia,  and  some  killing  had  to  be  resorted  to  at 
times,  otherwise  work  would  stop  altogether. 

Anyhow,  taking  into  consideration  these  unavoidable 
stoppages,  the  work  went  on  very  satisfactorily  indeed ;  in 
fact,  after  a  day  or  two,  Bengston  discontinued  the  splicing 
of  the  main  brace  at  regular  intervals,  and  sent  the  bottle 
down  in  the  hold  in  Ericson's  care,  with  instructions  to 
splice  away  when  deemed  necessary. 

Our  fresh  meat  allowance  was  increased  considerably, 
and  many  other  things  we  never  dreamt  of  seeing  on 
board  the  Forsette  came  forth  as  if  by  magic.  Every  one 
was  happy  and  contented,  except  the  cook,  who  allowed 
that  he  had  never  seen  such  waste,  and  could  not  under- 
stand what  had  got  into  the  old  man  all  of  a  sudden. 

There  was  quite  a  little  rivalry  between  Ericson  and 
Herald  regarding  good  stowage  and  the  amount  of  lum- 
ber that  had  passed  through  their  ports  when  the  day's 
work  was  over,  and  to  settle  the  matter  fairly,  Swanson 


YANKEE    SWANSON  193 

made  a  clinometer,  marked  off  into  degrees,  which  he 
hung  up  on  the  hatch  combing  where  everybody  could 
view  it.  By  noting  the  list  of  the  vessel  in  the  morning 
and  likewise  in  the  evening,  it  gave  us  a  pretty  fair  idea 
which  port  had  received  the  most  lumber.  Ericson  felt 
very  badly  about  it  if  the  vessel  happened  to  be  listed 
to  starboard  when  the  day's  work  was  over,  but  Herald 
did  not  seem  to  care  a  great  deal  which  side  had  the  ad- 
vantage; in  fact,  he  made  it  appear  as  though  he  was 
better  satisfied  when  Ericson  had  the  best  of  it  —  this  on 
account  of  Ericson  being  an  officer,  I  think. 

Two  days  after  our  arrival  at  Solombola  two  vessels  ar- 
rived and  were  berthed  one  on  each  side  of  the  Forsette. 
It  was  during  the  noon  hour  when  they  docked,  and  we 
had  a  good  opportunity  to  observe  the  difference  in  offi- 
cers and  crews  of  the  two  vessels;  also  the  difference  in 
discipline,  as  well  as  their  method  of  performing  a  piece 
of  work  under  similar  conditions. 

Swanson  had  often  told  me  that  there  were  no  vessels 
afloat  where  work  was  carried  on  with  such  alacrity  as  on 
board  American  ships,  and  from  what  I  observed  on  this 
occasion,  what  Swanson  had  told  me  was  undoubtedly 
true. 

The  names  of  the  vessels  were  Glengarry,  London,  and 
Progress,  New  York.  Both  of  them  were  to  load  lumber 
for  Melbourne,  Australia.  The  Progress  was  moored  to 
the  wharf,  her  sails  unbent,  tagged  and  stowed  away,  ropes 
coiled  up  snug  and  decks  swept  down  before  the  Glen- 
garry was  anywhere  near  made  fast.  It  seemed  to  me  as 
though  there  was  neither  head  nor  tail  to  anything  on 
board  this  ship.  Everything  appeared  to  be  run  with- 
out any  end  in  view,  and  Swanson  called  my  attention  to 
it,  shaking  his  head  as  he  remarked,  "  I  should  like  to  see 
those  limejuice  guys  on  board  the  Progress  for  a  little 
while;  I  think  they  would  get  a  different  move  on  them- 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

selves  there."  One  fellow  in  particular  on  the  Glengarry 
attracted  my  attention,  and  as  I  will  have  something  to 
relate  about  him  bye  and  bye,  I  shall  try  to  describe 
him. 

This  individual  was  of  medium  height  and  very  broad- 
shouldered.  The  left  shoulder  appeared  to  be  elevated  to 
the  level  of  the  butt  of  the  ear,  and  gave  him  a  rakish, 
slouchy  appearance.  His  face  was  not  very  handsome 
at  its  best,  I  thought.  It  was  disfigured  with  ugly  scars, 
and  his  nose  had  at  some  time  or  other  been  nearly  knocked 
into  his  head;  at  any  rate,  all  that  remained  of  what  had 
at  one  time  been  called  a  nose  was  a  little  growth  that 
reminded  me  of  an  overgrown  wart  with  two  black  specks 
in  the  centre.  His  eyes  were  merely  long  slits  and  almost 
covered  with  bushy  eyebrows ;  while  the  mouth  ran  nearly 
across  his  face,  one  side  of  it  elevated  on  an  angle  that 
corresponded  with  the  rake  of  the  shoulders.  His  legs 
were  short  and  slightly  bent,  but  of  immense  thickness, 
and  the  feet  were  correspondingly  large.  And  to  cap  it 
all,  he  continually  wore  a  leering,  contemptible  grin  that 
gave  one  the  impression  of  being  in  company  with  some- 
thing unearthly. 

The  Glengarry  had  a  line  on  the  wharf,  and  they  were 
heaving  on  it  with  the  capstan.  As  they  approached  the 
Forsette,  the  second  officer,  a  nice  looking  young  fellow, 
sang  out,  "  Break  away  there,  Irish,  and  look  out  for  the 
cork  fender."  Irish,  the  human  monster  I  have  tried  to 
describe,  pulled  out  the  capstan  bar,  on  which  he  was 
heaving,  threw  it  down  with  great  force  at  the  feet  of 
the  second  officer,  and  shouted  loud  enough  for  every  one 
on  board  our  vessel  to  hear,  "  What  in  H — 1  is  the  matter 
with  you  ?  Don't  you  see  there  are  two  square  heads 
over  on  that  scow  with  cork  fenders  ?  Get  on  to  yourself 
and  don't  make  a  show."  He  was  alluding  to  Jack  and 
me,  who  were  standing  on  the  rail,  watching  them. 


YANKEE   SWANSON  195 

The  second  officer  said  no  more,  but  he  must  have  felt 
very  ill  at  ease  from  such  a  call  down.  He  sent  one  of 
the  boys  to  attend  the  fender,  while  Irish  picked  up  the 
capstan  bar  and  started  to  sing,  "  Blow,  boys,  Blow  for 
California;  there  is  plenty  of  gold,  so  I  have  been  told, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento." 

In  the  evening,  our  day's  work  over,  and  the  Glen- 
garry finally  at  rest  and  in  position  for  taking  on  cargo, 
we  had  a  visit  from  several  members  of  her  crew,  and 
amongst  them  was  Irish.  He  loitered  about  a  bit,  making 
sarcastic  remarks  about  our  vessel,  and  finally  walked  up 
on  the  poop,  where  he  found  Mr.  Swanson  resting  his 
elbow  on  the  house,  smoking  his  evening  pipe.  "  Hello, 
Matey,"  said  Irish.  "  Put  it  there,"  stretching  out  his 
hand.  Swanson  looked  him  square  in  the  eye,  but  did 
not  offer  his  hand.  "  All  right,"  said  Irish,  "  it  don't 
matter,  anyhow.  I  know  who  you  are,  Yankee  Swanson, 
and  I  only  wanted  to  pay  my  respects  on  account  of  us 
having  been  shipmates  many  years  ago  on  the  Flying 
Scud." 

"  Is  that  so  ?  "  asked  Swanson.  "  Well,  if  we  were 
shipmates  on  the  Flying  Scud  you  must  have  been  a  very 
small  kid  then,  as  I  can't  place  you  now.  And  beside, 
from  your  actions  and  your  behaviour  toward  your  officers 
to-day,  it  makes  me  believe  that  you  are  a  liar  of  the 
worst  kind,  because  we  brought  up  kids  on  the  Flying 
Scud  to  become  sailors,  and  it  can  plainly  be  seen  that 
you  are  not  one." 

Irish  was  very  much  taken  aback  and  started  to  give 
some  back  talk,  but  Swanson  cut  him  short  by  putting  the 
pipe  away  and  asking  him  to  get  off  the  poop  as  quick  as 
possible. 

I  think  Irish  concluded  that  he  was  not  talking  to  the 
second  officer  of  the  Glengarry,  for  he  did  not  have  to  be 
asked  a  second  time,  but  took  himself  off  forward,  where 


196  YANKEE    SWANSON 

he  stumbled  foul  of  our  cook,  and  the  two  engaged  in  a 
spirited  conversation.  It  appeared  from  the  conversation 
that  the  cook  had  already  given  Irish  the  rough  outlines 
of  every  member  of  our  crew,  and  undoubtedly  Swanson 
had  come  in  for  a  large  portion  of  the  cook's  wicked  slan- 
der. 

Irish,  who  formerly  had  been  a  professional  prize 
fighter  in  Liverpool,  among  the  lower  set,  held  a  reputa- 
tion of  being  one  of  the  best  all  round  fighters  in  that 
great  port,  and  having  been  told  by  our  cook  that  Swan- 
son  was  no  slouch  himself  with  the  mittens,  he  had  con- 
cluded to  strike  up  an  acquaintance,  with  the  idea  in  view 
of  comparing  notes,  thinking,  I  suppose,  that  his  looks 
alone  would  entitle  him  to  a  decent  reception. 

Having  been  received  in  this,  what  he  called  shabby 
manner,  he  became  very  angry  and  swore  that  he  would 
take  it  out  of  Swanson  on  the  first  opportunity  that  of- 
fered itself.  "  I  will  give  you  a  chance  to  judge  what 
sort  of  a  fighter  Yankee  Swanson  is,"  he  said  to  the  cook. 
"  He  don't  remember  me  now,  he  doesn't,  but  he  will 
before  I  am  through  with  him.  I  was  a  boy  on  the 
'Flying  Scud  a  round  voyage  to  San  Francisco  when  he 
was  third  or  second  mate,  and  as  near  as  I  can  remember 
he  wasn't  much  then,  although  he  was  in  his  prime,  a  big, 
overgrown,  double-headed  Swede." 

Swanson  overheard  what  the  fellow  was  saying,  and 
decided  to  put  a  stop  to  it  at  once.  He  was  a  man  who 
did  not  believe  in  much  talk  and  long  arguments;  quick 
action  and  plenty  of  steam  was  his  motto. 

Captain  Bengston  came  out  of  the  cabin  just  as  Swan- 
son  was  in  the  act  of  taking  off  his  coat  and  rolling  up  his 
sleeves,  and  noticing  that  Swanson  was  angry,  he  enquired 
the  cause  of  it.  The  captain  tried  to  persuade  him  not 
to  take  any  notice  of  it.  "  He  will  go  away  by  and 
by,"  said  Bengston,  "  and  I  will  ask  the  captain  and  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  197 


again. 

"  Little  good  that  would  do,"  replied  Swanson.  "  Did 
you  hear  how  that  dog-face  abused  the  whole  lot  of  them, 
captain  and  all,  when  they  were  mooring  their  vessel  this 
afternoon  ?  "  Bengston  admitted  that  he  did.  "  Well," 
said  Swanson,  "  and  you  think  that  if  any  one  of  that 
bunch  should  ask  that  Mick  to  stop  abusing  me  he  would 
stop?  I  tell  you  he  will  get  a  d — n  sight  worse,  and 
there  will  be  no  living  with  him,  either  on  board  of  the 
Glengarry  or  here.  Now  is  the  time  to  take  the  fight  out 
of  him  for  keeps,  and  I  think  I  can  do  it." 

A  number  of  sailors  from  the  Glengarry  and  Progress, 
besides  our  own  men,  including  the  cook,  were  assembled, 
and  formed  a  semi-circle  about  the  hero  of  many  fights, 
when  Swanson  came  forward.  Swanson  started  in  by 
driving  them  all  to  one  side,  shouting,  "  Get  out  of  here, 
all  of  you  who  don't  belong  here." 

The  men  seeing  that  there  was  trouble  in  store  for 
somebody,  edged  away  to  a  respectable  distance. 

Swanson  turned  to  Irish,  who  was  sitting  on  a  spare 
topmast,  and  said,  "  Get  up,  you  dog,  and  defend  your- 
self if  you  don't  want  to  be  killed  where  you  are  sitting." 

"  I  will  get  up  when  I  am  good  and  ready,"  replied 
Irish,  "and  what  is  more,  no  white-washed  Yank  can 
make  me  do  it." 

Swanson  hit  him  an  awful  blow  on  the  side  of  the  face 
with  the  flat  of  the  hand,  and  Irish  fell  from  his  sitting 
position  to  the  deck. 

"  If  you  won't  come  up,  I  can  at  least  make  you  go 
down,"  shouted  Swanson,  as  he  stood  looking  down  on 
the  fallen  Irishman. 

But  Irish  did  not  remain  very  long  in  that  position. 
He  got  on  his  feet  and  demanded  to  know  if  he  was  to 
get  a  square  deal.  "  That  all  depends  on  yourself,"  said 


198  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Swanson.  "  If  you  will  stop  talking  and  get  up  and 
fight,  it  will  be  square  enough.  I  understand  you  are 
anxious  to  renew  an  old  acquaintance."  Irish  started  in 
with  a  lot  of  abuse  and  mean  language  while  taking  off 
his  coat,  but  Swanson  paid  no  attention  to  him.  He  stood 
there  as  still  as  a  statue,  with  his  arms  folded  across  his 
chest. 

Finally  Irish  shouted,  "  Put  up  your  dukes,  Yank,  and 
take  your  medicine  like  a  man," 

"  I  am  ready,  Irish,  fetch  it  along,"  replied  Swanson. 

Of  course,  this  fight  was  not  fought  by  rounds.  It 
was  more  after  the  fashion  of  a  continuous  performance 
from  start  to  finish.  It  was  what  the  sporting  man  would 
call  a  gruelling  mill,  such  a  one  as  two  fierce  bulldogs 
would  put  up.  The  fight  lasted  ten  minutes,  and  during 
that  time  Irish  was  knocked  down  a  dozen  times.  His 
face  was  beaten  to  a  pulp  and  both  his  eyes  were  closed, 
but  still  on  he  came  as  if  hungering  for  more  punishment. 
He  was  a  bulldog  out  and  out,  and  none  could  deny  that 
he  was  game,  but  he  lacked  the  finer  points  and  was  at 
Swanson's  mercy  from  start  to  finish.  It  was  admitted 
all  around  that  Swanson  could  have  finished  him  almost 
at  any  time,  but  he  seemed  to  take  delight  in  hammering 
away  at  the  brute,  which  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact 
that  Irish  continually  kept  up  abusing  Swanson  in  lan- 
guage unmentionable. 

The  captain  and  officers  from  the  American  vessel  came 
on  board,  as  well  as  the  officers  and  the  whole  crew  from 
the  Glengarry,  when  the  fight  began,  and  were  witnesses 
of  a  performance  they  all  admitted  to  be  the  most  grue- 
some sight  they  had  ever  seen. 

The  Irishman  kept  up  fighting  until  he  was  totally 
blind,  and  even  then,  helpless  as  he  was,  he  swore  and 
abused  Swanson,  who  finally  hit  him  in  some  tender  spot 
that  put  him  to  sleep. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  199 

Jack  and  I  did  not  see  the  fight  at  the  finish,  it  was 
too  much  for  us.  We  lingered  until  we  saw  that  Swan- 
son  was  master  of  the  situation,  and  with  that  our  interest 
was  at  an  end.  We  went  aft  and  sat  down  in  Jack's  den, 
where  we  found  poor  Nap  doubled  up  in  a  sound  sleep, 
tired  after  a  hard  day's  work  on  the  plank  road. 

After  a  little  while  we  heard  a  lot  of  people  running 
up  on  the  poop.  It  was  Swanson  and  the  officers  from 
the  different  vessels,  who  had  witnessed  the  fight.  They 
all  entered  the  cabin  until  it  was  packed  full.  Bengston 
took  out  the  bottle  and  all  hands  drank  to  Swanson' s 
health,  long  life  and  prosperity.  Congratulations  were 
heaped  upon  the  hard-fisted  hero,  but  he  accepted  them 
with  a  frown,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Huh,  that  fellow  was 
dead  easy.  Why  haven't  you  fellows  attended  to  his  case 
before  ?  "  The  first  officer  of  the  Glengarry,  an  old  kind- 
hearted  Englishman,  told  Swanson  of  the  misery  he  and 
the  whole  crew  had  been  in  since  they  had  left  Liver- 
pool, with  that  brute  riding  roughshod  over  everybody. 
"  Well,"  said  Swanson,  "  I  feel  sorry  for  you,  old  man, 
but  it  is  all  over  with  now.  The  fight  is  pretty  well 
taken  out  of  him,  and  let  me  tell  you,  Mr.  Mate,"  went 
on  Swanson,  "  I  have  been  sizing  up  your  crew  to-day, 
and  I  am  satisfied  that  you  have  several  young  fellows 
in  your  crew  that  can  lick  the  stuffing  out  of  that  brute 
any  time.  The  trouble  is,  his  awful  looks  have  fright- 
ened them  a  bit,  but  they  will  find  out  that  his  appearance 
won't  be  quite  so  fierce  in  the  future.  I  did  my  best  to 
polish  it  up  a  bit,  and  I  think  I  was  fairly  successful." 

The  mate  shook  Swanson's  hand  and  said  that  he  would 
never  forget  him.  "  But,  say,  friend,  how  in  all  the 
world  did  you  do  it  ?  You  are  not  a  strong  looking  man 
and  not  by  any  means  a  young  man,  and  still  you  had  no 
great  trouble  in  knocking  out  that  ugly  brute,  Irish. 
That's  a  wonder.  It  took  Jem  Mace  twenty  rounds  to 


200  YANKEE    SWANSON 

polish  him  off,  and  Mace  was  in  his  prime  at  the 
time." 

"  Well,  it  is  like  this,"  said  Swanson.  "  I  don't  like 
fighting,  and  never  fight  unless  it  is  forced  on  me,  but 
when  it  comes  to  such  a  pass  that  I  have  to  do  it,  I  always 
polish  them  up  in  such  a  shape  that  they  don't  come 
around  and  bother  me  again  looking  for  more,  and  I 
have  found  that  policy  to  be  good  logic,  as  you  will  see 
in  this  case  with  Mr.  Irish.  He  won't  trouble  me  or  any- 
body else  while  at  this  place.  After  you  get  away  from 
here  he  might  get  fresh  again,  and  then  he  should  be  taken 
in  hand  and  a  few  finishing  touches  applied  that  would 
put  him  to  sleep  for  good.  I  have  in  my  time  seen  men 
as  bad  as  him  —  not  quite  so  ugly  looking  —  and  always 
succeeded  in  bringing  them  around  to  be  very  reasonable. 

"  Of  course,"  went  on  Swanson,  "  Irish  may  be  an 
exception  to  the  general  rule,  and  if  he  should  like  to  have 
another  go  after  he  gets  round  a  bit,  I  shall  be  delighted 
to  take  him  on  once  more." 

"  Well,"  said  the  old  mate,  "  I  am  tickled  the  way 
things  stand  at  present.  I  don't  think  he  will  do  a  man's 
work  while  we  are  here,  and  perhaps  it  will  be  best  to 
send  him  to  the  hospital  and  leave  him  behind,  as  the 
captain  and  I  are  determined  upon  getting  rid  of  him 
at  any  price.  Anyhow,  I  am  ever  so  much  obliged  to 
you,  Mr.  Swanson,  for  what  you  have  done.  I  will  now 
bid  you  all  good  night  and  see  about  getting  that  ugly 
carcass  on  board  the  Glengarry/'  and  with  that  the  visit- 
ors left  the  cabin. 

It  is  really  surprising  what  an  amount  of  popularity 
and  esteem  a  person  will  derive  from  some  action  into 
which,  you  might  say,  one  has  been  forced,  as  in  the  case 
I  have  just  related.  Swanson  did  not  want  to  fight;  it 
was  forced  on  to  him  by  the  fellow  Irish  and  his  foul 
language. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  201 

The  news  of  this  fight  spread  like  wildfire  through  the 
shipping  at  Solombola,  and  then  on  to  Archangel,  and  so 
on  all  over  the  world,  and  as  it  was  passed  along,  it  was 
of  course  greatly  exaggerated  until  it  was  no  more  the 
fight  I  have  described  than  night  is  like  day. 

Years  afterward,  when  I  was  mate  on  an  American 
vessel,  a  fellow  shipmate  related  this  fight  to  me,  not 
knowing  that  I  had  been  an  eyewitness  to  it.  The  only 
thing  about  the  whole  narrative  that  was  correct  was  the 
fact  that  he  had  the  names  of  the  two  combatants  and 
the  two  vessels  correct,  and  by  that  one  fact  only  I  knew 
what  he  was  trying  to  tell  me.  Part  of  the  story  was 
this,  that  Swanson  gouged  out  Irish's  eyes  and  that  Irish 
bit  off  Swanson's  ears. 

Our  cook  did  a  great  deal  toward  spreading  the  news 
broadcast,  and  he  did  not  forget  to  profit  by  it  himself, 
to  a  certain  extent.  Situated,  as  the  cook  was,  away  from 
the  ship  the  whole  day  and  associating  with  cooks  from 
every  ship  in  the  harbour,  he  had  the  opportunity  of  his 
life  to  concoct  any  story,  no  matter  how  ridiculous,  with- 
out fear  of  being  contradicted.  The  only  member  of 
our  crew  who  visited  the  cook-house  was  Jack,  and  the 
cook  had  great  confidence  in  the  boy,  because  he  made  it 
a  point  not  to  meddle  with  the  cook's  lies. 

One  day  when  Jack  arrived  at  the  cook-house,  the  cook 
was  in  the  act  of  relating  his  experience  with  the  beluga 
on  the  trip  out.  According  to  his  story,  he  recovered  the 
harpoon  and  line  and  intended  to  put  both  these  articles 
on  exhibition  when  he  got  to  England,  and  expected  to 
realise  a  great  amount  of  money  on  them.  Besides,  he  was 
confident  that  the  Board  of  Trade  would  present  him 
with  a  gold  medal  for  having  saved  the  ship  from  cap- 
sizing, as  well  as  for  telling  the  captain  and  the  mate 
what  to  do  when  in  a  bad  fix.  "  It  is  no  use  talking, 
that  fellow  Swanson  is  a  fairly  good  boxer,  but  he  has 


202  YANKEE    SWANSON 

me  to  thank  for  his  best  points,  and  he  knows  it,"  said  the 
cook,  as  he  refilled  the  pipe.  "  But  as  for  being  what 
you  would  call  a  first  class  sailorman,  never!  I  myself 
could  give  him  cards  and  spades  when  it  comes  to  handling 
a  vessel  in  a  breeze  of  wind  as  we  had  on  the  way  over. 
He  deserves  great  credit,  though,"  he  continued,  taking 
a  long  pull  at  the  pipe.  "  The  way  he  handled  that  guy 
Irish,  I  doubt  if  I  could  have  done  any  better  myself, 
but  he  was  a  long  time  doing  it.  He  is  all  for  show,  that 
Yankee  Swanson  is.  He  could  just  as  well  have  finished 
that  fellow  up  in  half  the  time,  and  there  was  no  need  of 
marking  him  up  so  that  his  mother  will  never  be  able  to 
recognise  him  again.  I  went  over  on  board  the  Glen- 
garry last  night  to  see  how  the  poor  fellow  was  getting 
along,  and  dear  me,  it  was  a  sight  that  brought  tears  to 
my  eyes,  and  I  am  not  overly  soft-hearted,  at  that.  He 
asked  me  for  a  little  soup,  Irish  did,  and  I  was  only  too 
glad  to  bring  him  some,  as  it  is  the  only  thing  he  will 
ever  be  able  to  chew  for  the  remainder  of  his  life;  he 
ain't  got  a  single  tooth  left,  except  a  few  that  Ericson 
found  on  the  deck  the  morning  after  the  fight  and  sent 
over  to  Irish,  and  told  him  to  keep  them  for  souvenirs. 
That  was  cruel  to  do  that,  but  what  can  you  expect  of  a 
Mongolian  like  Ericson,  and  now  Swanson,  I  see,  has 
started  to  give  him  boxing  lessons.  Well,  the  Lord  save 
us  if  that  fellow  Ericson  ever  gets  on  to  the  ropes  in  the 
manly  art  of  self-defence,  there  will  be  no  living  with 
him,  because  he  is  as  strong  as  an  elephant,  and  we  have 
seen  some  of  his  cruelties.  Look  how  he  treated  poor, 
harmless  August  in  Grotto.  Wasn't  he  going  to  pull  the 
poor  fellow  down  off  the  gallant  yard  ? " 

Jack  told  me  this  and  a  lot  more  of  what  the  cook  had 
been  saying,  and  I  advised  him  not  to  mention  it  to  any- 
body, as  I  was  afraid  that  Swanson  would  hear  of  it  and 


YANKEE    SWANSON  203 

I  felt  sure  that  Swanson  at  some  time  or  other  would 
forget  himself  and  perhaps  give  the  old  cook  a  beating. 

Slocume  was  the  name  of  the  captain  on  the  Progress. 
He  and  his  wife  and  two  children  were  on  board,  and 
also  a  good  looking  young  woman,  a  relative  of  the  cap- 
tain's wife. 

The  cook  of  the  Progress  was  a  big,  good-natured  negro, 
whose  name  was  Sambo.  Jack  had  a  great  knack  for 
making  friends,  owing  to  his  happy  disposition,  and  also 
to  the  fact  that  he  was  always  willing  to  lend  a  hand 
when  he  saw  it  was  needed. 

One  morning  Jack  was  on  his  way  to  the  cook-house  to 
fetch  the  breakfast,  and  having  nothing  to  bring  out  that 
morning,  he  thought  he  would  take  a  ride,  as  the  wagon 
was  empty,  and  besides  he  was  anxious  to  find  out  how 
Nap  was  going  to  take  it,  whether  he  would  object  or  take 
it  as  an  honour.  Napoleon  must  have  looked  upon  it 
from  the  latter  point  of  view,  and  started  off  at  a  pretty 
good  gait.  They  had  not  travelled  very  far  when  they 
overhauled  Sambo  making  poor  time  under  a  full  load 
of  pots  and  pans,  besides  some  stores.  Jack  stopped  the 
turnout  and  volunteered  to  bring  Sambo's  gear  to  the 
cook-house.  Sambo  was  overjoyed  at  the  offer,  and  from 
that  moment  Jack  and  Sambo  were  on  the  most  intimate 
terms. 

As  they  walked  along,  Sambo  informed  Jack  that  the 
ladies  on  board  the  Progress  did  their  own  cooking,  as 
did  the  captain  and  the  officers,  in  the  cabin,  on  an  oil 
stove.  It  was  against  the  rules  of  the  port,  Sambo  ex- 
plained, but  Captain  Slocume  had  an  eye  to  business, 
and  had  overcome  this  little  difficulty  by  greasing  up  the 
Custom  House  officer. 

Sambo  then  commenced  to  make  Jack  acquainted  with 
the  conditions  in  general  on  board  the  Progress. 


204-  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Captain  Slocume  and  his  family  were  the  finest  peo- 
ple in  the  land,  Sambo  said,  and  the  officers  were  fairly 
good  also ;  but  as  for  the  crew  they  were  mostly  foreigners 
and  poor  white  trash  of  the  worst  kind. 

Jack  noticed  that  Sambo  brought  along  such  stuff  as 
ham  and  bacon,  and  having  been  informed  that  the  ladies 
did  their  own  cooking,  he  naturally  wondered  who  it 
could  be  for,  and  on  being  informed  that  it  was  for  the 
crew  he  could  hardly  believe  that  Sambo  was  telling  the 
truth. 

"  Why,  boy  alive,"  exclaimed  Sambo,  when  he  saw 
Jack  doubting  him,  "that's  nothing.  If  it  wasn't  for 
the  distance  I  have  to  fetch  the  stuff,  I  should  have  the 
eggs  along  with  the  ham.  If  you  would  be  so  kind  as 
to  give  this  here  nigger  a  lift  every  morning,  I  will  prom- 
ise you  all  the  ham  and  eggs  you  and  your  friend,  the 
other  boy,  can  stow  away." 

Jack's  mouth  watered  at  the  thought  of  Sambo's  lib- 
eral promise,  and  he  told  Sambo  he  would  give  him  a 
lift  every  time  he  was  not  otherwise  engaged.  He  then 
started  to  tell  Sambo  about  the  sterling  qualities  of 
Napoleon,  and  enlarged  upon  the  fact  that  the  dog  never 
forgot  kindness  and  never  forgave  a  mean  trick,  such  as 
our  cook  used  to  play  on  him.  He  informed  Jack  that  he 
had  heard  a  great  deal  about  Nap  from  our  cook,  who, 
it  seemed,  had  taken  all  the  credit  for  training  him  to  such 
an  efficient  state,  and  Jack,  not  wishing  to  have  our  cook 
caught  red-handed  at  lying,  told  Sambo  that  the  cook  had 
had  considerable  to  do  with  it. 

"  That  mate  on  your  ship  must  be  a  hard  man,"  said 
Sambo.  "  Does  he  beat  you  up  much  ? "  Jack  in- 
formed him  that  Swanson  was  the  best  man  in  the  world, 
and  that  he  never  beat  anybody  except  when  he  had  to. 
"  But  he  always  makes  a  good  job  of  it  when  he  gets 
started,"  Jack  informed  him. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  205 

"  Yes,  I  saw  that ;  but  I  think  he  done  it  too  well  this 
time.  That  fellow  Irish  is  going  to  die,  sure;  all  his 
ribs  are  broken.  What  did  you  say  that  mate's  name  is, 
boy?  Swanson?  That's  strange.  Swanson,  Swanson; 
I  wonder  if  that  can  be  the  same  man,"  said  Sambo 
thoughtfully. 

"  Do  you  know  him  ?  "  enquired  Jack. 

"  No,  boy.  I  don't  know  him ;  but  it's  like  this :  In 
the  evening,  after  the  fight,  when  I  was  setting  things 
right  in  the  cabin,  I  heard  the  captain  and  the  officers 
talking  about  this  fight,  and  the  captain  said  that  he  never 
saw  but  one  man  that  could  fight  like  that  mate  of  yours, 
and  that  was  a  mate  on  an  American  ship  called  the  Fly- 
ing Scud,  many  years  ago,  and  if  I  remember  right,  he 
said  his  name  was  Swanson,  or  something  very  much 
like  it." 

Jack  told  Sambo  he  knew  Swanson  had  sailed  on  such 
a  ship,  but  in  what  capacity  he  could  not  say.  Sambo 
shook  his  head  as  though  in  deep  thought,  and  said  he 
would  tell  his  captain  about  this  strange  coincidence. 

They  had  arrived  at  the  cook-house.  Our  cook  stowed 
the  breakfast  away  in  the  wagon  and  Jack  and  Nap  were 
treated  to  some  ham  and  bread  by  Sambo  before  they 
started  back  for  headquarters. 

The  manager  at  the  lumber  yard  at  which  we  loaded 
was  a  gentlemanly-looking  fellow,  not  of  the  bewhiskered 
type,  and  spoke  English  well.  The  captains  of  the  dif- 
ferent vessels  loading  at  his  yard  were  allowed  to  gather 
firewood  about  the  yard,  sufficient  for  use  at  the  cook- 
house, but  it  was  understood  that  they  were  to  caution  their 
cooks  or  boys  who  were  sent  to  gather  it  that  no  large 
pieces  of  lumber  were  allowed  to  be  classed  as  firewood; 
only  such  stuff  as  ends  of  planks  about  a  foot  long  and 
under  would  be  allowed  to  be  taken  away. 

This  extra  work  fell  to  the  lot  of  Jack  and  Nap,  and 


206  YANKEE    SWANSON 

between  that  and  the  transporting  of  the  food  from  the 
cook-house  it  made  their  day's  work  complete  indeed. 

Jack  was  a  shrewd  little  fellow,  and  had  a  great  faculty 
for  making  friends;  even  among  the  bewhiskered  yard- 
hands  he  was  at  home.  Having  received  his  orders  from 
Swanson  regarding  the  wood  gathering,  he  cheerfully 
summoned  his  friend  Nap  and  started  out  among  the 
lumber  piles.  Having  transported  one  wagonload  out 
to  the  cook-house,  which  was  sufficient  for  the  cook's  use 
for  the  day,  Jack,  who  had  an  eye  for  business,  always 
brought  something  back  from  the  cook-house  wherewith  to 
treat  the  hungry  yard  labourers.  At  other  times,  if  he 
noticed  they  required  a  little  cheering  up  he  would  extract 
the  tin  whistle  from  his  inside  pocket,  strike  up  a  jig  or 
a  sand-dance,  and  go  through  with  some  almost  impossible 
steps  that  would  make  a  dead  man  laugh. 

If  the  foreman  should  come  along  and  catch  the  men 
loafing  in  that  manner  he  would  growl  a  little,  but  that 
did  not  prevent  him  from  enjoying  the  fun  as  well  as  any 
of  the  rest,  especially  so  when  Jack  would  take  the  har- 
ness off  ISTap  and  make  him  do  any  number  of  tricks. 

After  having  treated  the  foreman  to  a  small  piece  of 
chewing  tobacco  that  Jack  had  begged  from  some  fellow 
at  the  cook-house,  and  by  various  other  ways  managed  to 
get  the  foreman  into  a  good  humour,  Jack  would  not 
forget  to  remind  him  of  a  nice  little  pile  of  wood  that  he 
would  like  to  be  allowed  to  take  on  board  the  ship.  The 
foreman  could  not  think  of  such  a  thing;  in  fact  he  was 
surprised  that  the  boy  would  dare  suggest  anything  of  the 
kind ;  at  the  same  time  Jack  was  given  to  understand  that 
if  he  saw  his  way  clear  to  get  him  something  to  eat  next 
time  he  went  to  the  cook-house  he  would  be  blind  for  the 
remainder  of  the  day. 

Bengston  was  rubbing  his  hands  with  joy  when  he  saw 
the  boy  fetching  all  these  fine  pieces  of  wood,  and  in  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  807 

course  of  a  few  days  Jack  had  the  long-boat  full  and 
preparations  were  made  to  stow  the  forepeak  full  also. 
"  That  means  money  for  you  and  me  when  we  get  to 
England,"  remarked  Bengston  one  day  when  he  met  Jack 
and  Nap  in  the  yard  with  the  wagon  loaded  with  choice 
pieces;  Jack  pushing  behind  and  poor  Nap  pulling  with 
head  bent  down,  panting. 

The  cooks  and  boys  from  the  other  vessels  out  wood 
hunting  were  jealous  of  the  success  of  Jack,  and  one  day 
a  fellow,  a  little  bolder  than  the  rest  of  the  cooks,  proceeded 
to  help  himself  to  some  choice  pieces  from  Jack's  wagon. 
Jack  protested,  but  the  fellow,  a  big  German  cook,  only 
laughed  and  said  that  Jack  was  joking.  He  took  all  that 
was  in  the  wagon  and  started  off  toward  the  ship.  Jack 
turned  Nap  loose  and  asked  him  to  stop  thief,  which  Nap 
proceeded  to  carry  out  in  his  customary  way,  by  attacking 
the  cook  in  the  legs.  The  German  let  out  a  yell  that 
could  be  heard  all  over  the  lumber  yard,  dropped  the 
wood  and  succeeded  in  finding  a  refuge  on  a  high  lumber 
pile,  from  which  place  he  lustily  shouted  for  help.  The 
Russian  lumber  jacks  were  enjoying  the  sport  immensely, 
while  Nap  sat  down  on  his  haunches  by  the  lumber  pile, 
and  by  loud  barking  challenged  the  Dutchman  to  come 
down  off  his  perch. 

The  first  mate  on  the  German  vessel,  who  heard  the 
cook's  signal  of  distress,  very  promptly  armed  himself 
with  a  stick  and  went  to  the  rescue.  After  having  ascer- 
tained the  cause  of  the  cook's  dilemma,  he  proceeded  to 
give  the  poor  cook  a  fearful  tongue  lashing  for  being  so 
cowardly ;  in  fact  he  accused  him  of  disgracing  the  whole 
German  nation  by  climbing  that  lumber  pile  and  calling 
for  help.  In  his  rage  he  threw  the  stick  at  the  cook  and 
ewore  that  if  he  did  not  come  down  at  once  he  would  come 
up  there  and  throw  him  down.  Then  turning  on  Nap, 
who  was  sitting  in  the  same  place,  very  harmless-looking, 


208  YANKEE    SWANSON 

he  launched  out  with  a  swift  kick,  which  Nap  very  neatly 
sidestepped  and  hooked  on  to  the  calf  of  the  mate's  leg. 

If  the  mate's  howling  was  an  indication  of  pain,  he 
must  have  suffered  terribly.  The  cook's  shouting  was 
nothing  in  comparison  with  the  mate's  unearthly  yells. 
The  whole  lumber  yard  was  astir;  Russians  and  dirty 
sailors  of  all  nations  came  running  from  all  directions 
and  concentrated  at  the  lumber  pile,  on  top  of  which  were 
two  big  Dutchmen,  brandishing  their  fists  at  one  another 
and  calling  names  that  wouldn't  look  well  in  print. 

Below  was  Napoleon,  barking  and  looking  at  the  new- 
comers with  pleading  eyes,  as  if  asking  for  assistance  to 
get  up  and  settle  the  Dutchmen  on  the  lumber  pile.  He 
kept  running  about,  trying  to  find  some  place  suitable  to 
enable  him  to  ascend,  but  no  stranger  cared  to  interfere. 

The  crew  of  the  German  vessel  was  there  to  a  man, 
and  they  seemed  to  enjoy  the  situation  of  their  mate  and 
the  cook  with  much  gusto. 

The  manager  of  the  yard,  finding  that  the  work  all 
around  had  ceased,  demanded  an  explanation  from  the 
foreman,  and  seemed  very  much  put  out  about  it,  but  after 
the  foreman  had  thoroughly  explained  the  situation,  of 
how  the  big  Dutchman  had  deliberately  robbed  the  boy, 
who  was  well  liked  about  the  yard,  he  also  joined  in  the 
merrymaking. 

Finally  Jack  went  away  and  took  the  wagon  to  where 
the  cook  had  dropped  the  wood,  and  after  he  had  it  on 
board  he  called  Nap  and  put  him  in  harness,  after  which 
they  went  about  their  business  as  though  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. 

The  crowd  lingered  until  the  two  Dutchmen  were  as- 
sured that  the  road  was  clear  of  dogs.  Then  they  came 
down,  very  shamefaced  indeed,  and  made  a  beeline  for 
their  vessel  without  bandying  any  more  words;  this  un- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  209 

doubtedly  due  to  the  fact  that  their  clothes  were  in  an 
awful  condition. 

This  little  episode  was  the  talk  of  the  place  while  we 
were  there,  and  Jack  and  Nap  received  notoriety  that  was 
only  second  to  Yankee  Swanson  and  Irish.  The  German 
captain,  on  the  other  hand,  was  loath  to  put  up  with  the 
notoriety  they  received  as  their  share,  and  protested  to 
the  manager,  stating  that  in  his  opinion  Jack  and  Nap 
should  be  debarred  from  doing  business  in  the  yard.  The 
manager  explained  that  such  a  proposition  was  out  of 
order  entirely,  inasmuch  as  every  cook  in  port  would  pro- 
test against  a  ruling  like  that.  He  said  it  was  a  well- 
known  fact  that  Nap  not  only  did  his  own  ship's  work, 
but  that  he  assisted  the  other  ship  cooks  in  transporting 
fuel  to  the  cook-house. 

"  Well,"  allowed  the  captain,  "  if  such  is  the  case,  they 
should  at  least  be  compelled  to  have  a  man  along  with  the 
dog,  who  could  stop  him  from  chewing  up  innocent  peo- 
ple." 

The  manager  was  losing  his  patience,  and  remarked, 
sarcastically,  that  the  captain  was  out  of  order  again. 
"  What  good  would  a  man  be  with  a  dog  that  bears  the 
name  of  Napoleon  ?  Answer  me  that  question.  Not  the 
kind  you  have  on  your  ship,  anyhow.  My  foreman  in- 
forms me  that  your  cook  and  the  mate  were  not  the  least 
frightened  until  they  heard  that  the  dog's  name  was 
Napoleon;  when  they  found  that  out  they  both  made  for 
the  tall  pines,  and  would  have  been  there  yet  if  the  boy 
had  not  taken  pity  on  them." 

This  was  treading  on  corns,  indeed,  but  the  manager 
stood  his  ground  in  fine  style  and  wound  up  by  telling 
the  captain  that  the  boy  was  a  Frenchman,  the  dog's  name 
was  Napoleon,  and  the  boss  in  the  yard  was  a  Russian, 
and  as  long  as  things  remained  in  that  state  he  would  not 


210  YANKEE    SWANSON 

debar  Napoleon  from  the  yard  if  every  Dutchman  in 
creation  took  to  the  lumber  piles. 

Having  settled  this  question,  the  manager  turned  on  his 
heel  and  walked  toward  his  office.  Seeing  Jack  hard  at 
work,  picking  up  pieces  of  lumber,  he  stopped  and  chatted 
for  a  minute,  telling  the  boy  that  he  could  consider  him- 
self a  privileged  character  in  the  yard,  which  meant  that 
he  was  at  liberty  to  pick  up  pieces  two  feet  long,  or,  in 
fact,  anything  that  was  not  stacked  up  ready  to  be  shipped. 
He  then  patted  Nap  on  the  head,  while  the  dog  wagged 
his  tail  in  a  friendly  way,  evidently  sizing  up  the  manager 
as  being  one  of  the  right  sort  and  one  that  he  would  like 
to  be  on  friendly  terms  with. 

Old  man  Bengston  and  his  mates  roared  with  laughter 
in  the  evening  when  Jack  related  this,  his  latest  adven- 
ture. The  boy  was  a  mimic  of  no  mean  order,  and  imi- 
tated the  two  Germans  to  perfection.  After  he  had 
finished  his  stunt  aft  he  came  forward  where  the  audience, 
consisting  of  three  ships'  crews,  were  anxious  to  have  the 
performance  gone  over  once  more  for  their  benefit. 

When  Jack  had  finished  we  all  felt  as  if  we  had  actually 
seen  the  whole  thing  in  reality.  The  fun  and  laughter  it 
created  was  immense,  and  we  wound  up  by  going  in  a 
body  down  alongside  of  the  German  ship,  expecting  to 
get  a  view  of  the  principals,  but  in  this  we  failed.  We 
were  told  they  had  gone  out  of  commission. 

The  work  in  loading  went  on  satisfactorily  in  every 
respect.  It  was  a  stand-off  between  us  and  the  Progress 
as  to  who  were  doing  the  best  work;  the  Glengarry  was 
out  of  the  race  altogether.  The  Russian  wharf-hands 
claimed  that  the  Forsetie  was  in  the  lead,  and  Ericson's 
head  could  be  seen  in  the  port  every  now  and  again,  shout- 
ing for  more  lumber. 

One  day  Swanson,  who  was  out  on  the  wharf  among 


YANKEE    SWANSON  811 

the  Russians,  shouted  out  my  name;  he  wanted  to  see  me. 
I  crawled  out  through  the  porthole  and  found  Swanson 
talking  to  the  captain  of  the  Glengarry,  who  had  a  news- 
paper in  his  hand.  Having  surveyed  me  with  a  critical 
eye  for  a  moment,  he  remarked  to  Swanson,  "  Well,  I 
declare.  Is  that  his  brother?  Likely  looking  chap, 
that."  Then  to  Swanson,  "  Does  the  boy  read  English  ?  " 
Swanson  having  answered  in  the  affirmative,  the  captain 
handed  me  the  newspaper,  saying  as  he  did  so,  "  Here, 
boy,  take  that,  and  you  will  find  something  there  that  will 
interest  you."  Thanking  the  captain,  I  took  the  paper 
and  intended  to  go  back  to  my  work,  but  Swanson  said, 
"  Never  mind,  Andrew,  it  is  near  noon.  Go  on  board  to 
Jack's  den,  and  take  your  time  about  it." 

I  had  no  trouble  to  find  something  that  interested  me 
very  much  indeed.  On  the  front  page  was  a  picture  of 
a  vessel,  and  also  one  of  two  men,  one  of  which  I  recog- 
nised as  my  brother.  The  article  gave  an  account  of  the 
German  barque  Flora,  long  overdue  and  listed  as  missing. 
She  had  arrived  at  Falmouth  in  charge  of  the  first  officer 
of  the  Swedish  barque  Concordia  and  a  sailor  of  the  same 
vessel.  The  Flora  was  an  iron  vessel  of  1500  tons  reg- 
ister, bound  from  Batavia  to  Falmouth  for  orders,  her 
cargo  consisting  of  coffee  and  spices.  Soon  after  having 
left  Batavia  the  dreaded  disease  beri-beri  made  its  ap- 
pearance among  the  crew,  from  which  they  gradually 
succumbed,  until  when  off  the  Madeira  Island  only  three 
members  of  the  crew  were  alive,  and  they  were  not  able 
to  do  any  work. 

It  was  at  Madeira  that  the  Concordia  seeing  the  Flora's 
distress  signals,  hove  to,  lowered  a  boat  and  sent  the  first 
officer  on  board  of  her  to  find  out  what  was  the  matter. 
Having  ascertained  the  terrible  state  of  affairs  on  board, 
he  came  back  and  reported,  whereupon  the  captain  of  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

Concordia  called  for  volunteers  to  sail  the  Flora  into 
some  convenient  port,  or  best  of  all,  Falmouth,  the  port 
she  was  bound  to,  if  possible. 

The  first  officer,  my  brother,  and  another  sailor  were 
accepted  out  of  the  crew,  they  having  seemed  willing  to 
undertake  the  job.  First  of  all,  the  greater  part  of  the 
Concordias  crew  were  sent  on  board  the  Flora  to  clean 
her  out  thoroughly.  Fumigation  had  to  be  resorted  to, 
because  several  bodies  were  found  in  the  fo'cs'le  in  a 
horrible  condition.  The  poor  fellows  that  were  still  alive, 
through  weakness  had  been  unable  to  throw  them  over- 
board. That  done,  a  fresh  suit  of  sails  had  to  be  bent; 
those  that  were  still  on  the  yards  were  mere  rags  and 
perfectly  useless. 

It  took  the  Concordia's  crew  three  days  to  put  the  Flora 
into  such  shape  that  the  first  officer  considered  he  stood  a 
chance  in  a  thousand  to  bring  the  vessel  into  Falmouth. 

Then  the  article  went  on  to  describe  the  passage  which 
was  full  of  stirring  events.  The  three  seamen  who  had 
been  alive  died  shortly  after  the  prize-crew  had  taken 
charge,  and  the  other  seaman  —  not  my  brother  —  died 
at  the  hospital  in  Falmouth. 

The  whole  British  Empire  lauded  the  piece  of  bravery 
and  perseverance  of  the  officer  and  the  sailor  who  had 
succeeded  so  nobly,  and  it  was  universally  hoped  that  their 
reward  would  be  liberal  and  in  keeping  with  the  stand 
always  taken  by  old  England,  "  Fair  play  and  survival 
of  the  fittest." 

This  was  in  short  what  the  article  contained.  I  read 
it  over  several  times  for  fear  of  having  missed  something, 
and  during  the  noon  hour  I  took  the  paper  to  Mr.  Swan- 
son,  to  whom  I  read  it  again,  he  saying  that  I  understood 
it  all. 

"What  do  you  think  of  all  that,  boy?"  asked  Swan- 
son.  "  Ain't  that  great,  hey  ?  Your  big  brother  will 


YANKEE    SWANSON  218 

now  be  a  rich  man.  Considering  the  valuable  cargo  of 
the  Flora,  and  she  is  almost  a  new  vessel,  he  will  get 
nothing  short  of  five  thousand  pounds,  and  the  mate  will 
get  double  that ;  anyway,  that  will  be  left  to  the  courts  of 
England,  and  you  can  gamble  on  it,  he  will  get  all  that 
is  coming  to  him  when  anything  is  left  with  them. 

"  That  is  one  thing  about  England  that  everybody  must 
admire,  and  that  is  their  fairness;  everybody  there  is 
equal,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  However,  we  will  soon 
hear  all  about  it,  I  expect.  The  mail  is  due  from  St. 
Petersburg  to-morrow,  and  we  ought  to  have  letters  from 
home  then.  But  look  here,  boy,"  continued  Swanson,  "  I 
was  just  thinking  of  that  old  Waterloo  grandfather  of 
yours.  Won't  he  be  the  proud  guardsman  when  he  hears 
the  good  news  ?  I  remember  when  I  was  a  little  boy  and 
before  my  father  drove  me  away  from  home,  how  your 
grandpa  and  some  other  fellows  round  our  place,  who  had 
served  in  the  jSTapoleonic  wars,  would  fix  themselves  up  in 
their  old  uniforms  and  go  to  church  on  the  fifth  of  May 
to  mourn  for  the  hero  who  died  in  exile  at  St.  Helena. 

"  We  boys,  through  ignorance,  used  to  think  these  old 
fellows  were  ridiculous,  and  poked  all  sorts  of  fun  at 
their  ragged  old  uniforms,  but  as  a  rule  we  sidestepped 
and  got  away." 

The  noon  hour  being  up,  we  turned  to,  and  during  the 
afternoon  Ericson  and  the  men  who  had  by  this  time 
heard  all  about  the  affair  were  discoursing  it  in  all  man- 
ners and  ways.  They  all  knew  my  brother  and  were 
happy  on  account  of  his  good  fortune. 

In  the  evening  the  cook  called  me  into  his  galley  and 
gave  me  a  private  audience.  He  told  me  he  felt  as  happy 
about  my  brother's  good  luck  as  if  it  had  been  himself 
who  had  fallen  heir  to  it  all.  "  I  always  liked  your 
brother  while  he  was  here,  almost  as  well  as  I  like  you, 
and  many  a  fine  point  I  put  him  next  to,  you  bet,  and 


214.  YANKEE    SWANSON 

nothing  would  suit  me  better  than  to  meet  him  in  Eng- 
land when  we  get  back,  so  that  I  could  personally  congrat- 
ulate him,  and  I  am  sure  that  he  would  be  only  too  glad 
to  remember  me  and  what  I  have  done  for  him,  by  giving 
me  the  glad  hand  and  something  more  substantial  besides. 
You  can  tell  him  that  when  you  write.  He  will  be  pleased 
to  hear  that  I  am  still  one  of  the  boys."  I  told  him  that 
I  would  let  him  know  all  about  it  at  the  first  opportunity. 

'Sambo,  the  jolly  old  darky,  was  as  good  as  his  word. 
By  that  I  mean  that  Jack  had  his  ham  and  eggs  every 
morning,  and  in  the  evenings  when  Jack,  Nap  and  I  vis- 
ited the  Progress  he  always  had  a  good  feed  for  us.  Like 
all  darkies,  he  was  fond  of  music  and  dancing,  and  could 
do  considerable  in  that  line  himself.  Having  finished  our 
supper,  Jack  would  take  out  the  tin  whistle  and  strike 
up  a  hoe-down,  and  old  Sambo  would  immediately  get  a 
move  on  himself  by  twisting  his  body  into  all  sorts  of 
shapes,  which  were  comical.  At  other  times  he  would 
take  up  the  banjo,  on  which  instrument  he  would  play 
the  accompaniments  and  sing  a  number  of  old  plantation 
songs,  his  favourite  one  being  "  Where  the  Sweet  Mag- 
nolia Grows." 

Jack  and  I  enjoyed  our  little  visits  to  Sambo  im- 
mensely. It  was  a  welcome  change  from  the  usual  sailor 
talk  we  heard  so  much.  Sambo  had  been  a  slave  and  had 
been  born  on  a  plantation  in  South  Carolina.  From 
what  he  told  us,  the  slaves  were  not  subjected  to  such 
harsh  treatment  as  I  had  been  made  to  believe  from 
reading  books.  In  fact,  Sambo  thought  that  many  ne- 
groes in  the  Southern  States  were  much  worse  off  now  than 
before  they  were  freed. 

I  asked  Sambo  if  he  had  told  the  captain  about  the 
fact  that  Swanson  had  been  a  member  of  the  crew  of  the 
clipper  Flying  Scud,  and  he  informed  me  that  he  had  not 


W 

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YANKEE    SWANSON  £15 

had  a  chance,  because  the  captain  had  been  away  from 
the  ship  a  couple  of  days,  but  that  he  would  tell  him  as 
soon  as  he  returned.  I  informed  Sambo  that  I  had  told 
Swanson  of  what  the  captain  had  remarked  in  Sambo's 
hearing,  the  night  of  the  fight,  and  that  Swanson  had  said 
that  he  could  not  remember  any  one  by  the  name  of  Slo- 
cume  on  the  Flying  Scud,  but  as  it  was  long  ago  he  might 
have  forgotten  it. 

"  I  think  he  is  the  man,  all  right,"  said  Sambo. 
"  Captain  Slocume  has  a  fine  memory,  particularly  if  it 
happens  to  fasten  itself  on  a  fight.  He  is  very  smart 
himself  with  his. fists,  I  can  tell  you.  I  have  been  with 
him  ten  years  and  in  that  time  I  have  never  seen  his 
memory  fail  him  but  once,  and  that  was  under  most 
peculiar  circumstances.  This  is  how  it  happened: 

"  One  day  a  sailor  gave  the  captain  a  lot  of  slack,  and 
Captain  Slocume  pitched  in  and  gave  him  a  most  power- 
ful licking.  The  sailor  got  a  great  deal  more  than  he 
had  been  looking  for;  in  fact  he  had  to  go  to  his  bunk 
for  several  days.  The  captain  did  not  know  that  the 
fellow  was  off  duty.  You  must  understand  that  Captain 
Slocume  is  not  a  fellow  that  is  mooching  around  all  the 
time,  like  some  captains  I  have  been  with.  Slocume  is  a 
fine  man  and  likes  to  see  everything  go  along  smooth,  and 
as  long  as  it  does,  you  will  never  hear  an  angry  word 
from  him.  Anyhow,  when  the  fellow  was  fit  for  duty, 
the  mate  sent  him  aft  to  take  the  wheel.  Captain  Slo- 
cume came  on  deck  a  little  while  after  the  fellow  had 
relieved  the  wheel  and  seeing  the  fellow  there,  said  to  the 
mate,  '  When  did  we  ship  that  stranger  ? '  '  That's  not 
a  stranger,  Cap./  answered  the  mate;  '  that's  the  Russian 
chap  that  shaved  off  his  whiskers.'  Nov?  that's  the  only 
time,  all  these  years  that  I  have  known  Captain  Slocume, 
that  he  allowed  his  memory  to  go  back  on  him  like  that, 


216  YANKEE    SWANSON 

and  to  tell  the  truth,  I  can't  blame  him  any  because  the 
fellow  had  changed  in  appearance  something  awful;  his 
mother  would  have  had  the  same  trouble,  I  think." 

When  he  finished  his  story  we  said  "  Good-bye."  Nap 
was  impatient  for  a  run  in  the  lumber  yard.  "  Be  sure 
and  come  for  your  ham  and  eggs  to-morrow  before  you 
take  the  wood  to  the  cook-house,  Jack,"  shouted  Sambo, 
as  we  ran  down  the  gangplank. 

The  Russian  calendar  is  full  of  holidays,  and  we  had 
several  during  our  stay  at  Archangel.  It  happened  to  be 
a  holiday  the  day  we  received  our  mail  from  home.  This 
was  fortunate,  because  it  took  me  the  whole  day  to  wade 
through  all  my  letters.  Everybody  had  something  to 
write  this  time,  and  it  was  mostly  all  good.  I  therefore 
felt  fine,  and  thought  what  a  happy  boy  I  would  be  and 
what  a  grand  reception  I  should  get  when  this  cruise  was 
happily  over,  and  the  good  old  Forsette  at  anchor  in  our 
little  harbour. 

In  my  letters  home  from  Scotland  and  Norway  I  had 
written  something  about  all  of  my  shipmates,  but  never 
said  anything  but  what  was  good,  as  I  had  no  reason  to 
do  otherwise;  especially  so  about  the  captain  and  Swan- 
son,  who  treated  me  with  the  greatest  consideration,  and 
whom  I  always  had  praised  to  the  sky. 

The  first  letter  I  opened  was  from  my  mother,  which 
commenced  with  her  kind,  motherly  advice  to  be  good  to 
those  in  authority.  She  was  very  much  distressed  be- 
cause that  scoundrel  Axel  had  returned  home  and  had 
called  at  the  farm,  accompanied  by  his  mother.  He  had 
given  a  terrible  account  of  me  and  everything  else  on 
board  the  Forsette,  especially  so  of  Swanson  and  the 
French  boy,  who  were  leading  me  astray  altogether,  and 
Axel's  mother  had  advised,  by  all  means,  to  get  me  back 
as  soon  as  possible;  otherwise  I  would  be  lost  for  all  time 
to  come. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  217 

"  And,  then,"  my  mother's  letter  continued,  "  I  have  to 
tell  you  the  worst  yet.  Your  grandfather  happened  to 
come  in  when  Axel  was  telling  me  all  these  awful  things, 
and  after  he  had  listened  to  him  for  a  little  while  he 
opened  the  door  and  pushed  the  women  out  in  the  yard. 
After  that,  and  without  saying  another  word,  he  took  that 
big  Axel  and  put  him  across  his  knee,  same  as  I  used  to 
do  with  you  when  you  were  little,  and  gave  him  the  worst 
licking  I  ever  saw  or  heard  tell  of.  The  poor  boy  prayed 
for  mercy,  but  the  old  man  said  that  he  had  none  to 
spare  while  his  walking  stick  lasted.  I  don't  know  what 
would  have  happened  if  it  had  not  been  for  your  father, 
who  heard  the  boy's  cry  and  came  hurrying  in  to  see 
what  was  up.  But  even  at  that  it  was  almost  too  late, 
because  when  your  father  arrived  the  stick  had  broken.  I 
am  awful  sorry  for  the  poor  boy.  He  hasn't  been  to  see 
us  since,  and  we  have  been  told  that  he  is  still  in  bed. 
When  you  write  to  grandpa  don't  mention  anything  about 
it  unless  he  should  say  something  about  it  himself.  I 
think  he  is  sorry  for  what  he  has  done,  and  he  does  not 
want  you  to  know  about  it,  because  he  likes  you  the  best 
of  all.  Poor  old  man,  he  can't  help  it ;  those  cruel  spells 
of  his  come  on  once  in  a  great  while.  It's  the  way  he 
was  brought  up;  you  know  he  was  so  many  years  with 
Napoleon,  and  you  have  read  of  what  an  awful  bad  man 
he  was." 

After  that  lot  she  commenced  to  tell  me  about  my 
brother  and  the  terrible  hardship  he  had  gone  through, 
sailing  the  ship  to  England,  and  of  how  kindly  the  Eng- 
lish people  had  treated  them.  Also,  brother  had  prom- 
ised to  buy  back  the  farm  if  things  turned  out  as  well 
as  he  expected. 

Finally  mother  concluded  by  saying  that  she  did  not 
believe  a  word  of  what  Axel  had  told,  but  still  it  seemed 
awful  to  whip  him  so  terribly. 


218  YANKEE    SWANSON 

My  sisters'  letters  were  practically  a  repetition  of 
brother's  adventure  and  of  how  happy  they  all  were  on 

his  own  account,  as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  he  had 
7  y 

promised  to  help  father  to  buy  back  the  old  farm  —  that 
part  of  it  he  had  been  forced  to  dispose  of. 

My  letters  from  Norway  had  been  full  of  interest  to 
them,  they  told  me.  That  boat  race,  especially,  must  have 
been  very  exciting.  But  what  seemed  to  interest  the  girls 
most  of  all  was  that  pretty  Frenchman  and  the  dog,  whom 
I  had  described  most  minutely.  Grandpa,  they  said,  was 
overjoyed  at  the  prospect  of  getting  such  a  fine  dog  as 
Napoleon  appeared  to  be;  and  as  for  the  boy  himself,  he 
intended  to  adopt  him  if  he  turned  out  to  be  a  fine  hand  at 
turning  the  grindstone. 

I  now  opened  grandpa's  letter.  I  always  left  that  for 
the  last,  because  I  found  it  the  most  interesting  of  all.  I 
understood  the  old  man  thoroughly,  better  than  any  of 
my  brothers  or  sisters,  better  than  my  father,  I  think,  and 
grandpa  was  aware  of  that. 

Being  such  an  old  man  —  I  might  say  in  his  second 
childhood  —  he  was  apt  to  switch  off  on  military  and 
campaign  matters  on  all  occasions,  which  became  tedious  to 
them  as  they  had  no  particulor  love  for  his  hero,  Napoleon. 
This  lack  of  appreciation  of  great  deeds,  on  their  part,  the 
old  man  took  as  a  direct  insult.  He  would  walk  away, 
deeply  injured  and  swearing  that  none  of  them  would  ever 
amount  to  anything,  except  I,  who  had  plenty  of  brains, 
and  besides  was  a  dandy  at  the  grindstone. 

Next  to  me,  my  mother  stood  highest  in  his  estimation. 
He  was  continually  pottering  around  —  what  he  called 
helping  her  —  but  very  often  more  in  her  way  than  any- 
thing else,  and  if  the  girls  were  taking  it  easy  when  he 
dropped  in  on  them,  they  came  in  for  a  scolding  that 
always  ended  with  him  wondering  what  the  world  was 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

coming  to,  anyway ;  great  big  lazy  girls  sitting  down  read- 
ing books  while  their  poor  mother  was  working  herself 
almost  to  death. 

The  old  man  began  his  letter  with,  "  Headquarters, 
September  1st,  1877,"  and  after  having  thanked  me  for 
the  letter  from  Norway,  which  had  been  very  interesting, 
he  started  to  let  me  know  how  lucky  it  was  that  he  had 
received  that  letter  a  few  days  before  that  rascal  Axel 
arrived. 

"  The  day  after  he  arrived  he  came  out  to  the  farm,  just 
to  make  a  friendly  call.  Your  mother  happened  to  be  all 
alone  in  the  house  at  the  time,  and  he  filled  her  up  with  a 
lot  of  lies,  the  likes  I  never  heard  before.  I  couldn't 
begin  to  tell  you  all  he  said,  so  I  will  just  mention  the 
nice  parts  of  it.  That  mate  Swanson  is  a  murderer, 
he  told  her,  and  they  tried  to  hang  him  once  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, but  the  rope  broke  and  he  ran  away  after  having 
killed  the  hangman  —  lucky  man  wasn't  he?  Then  he 
said  that  the  French  boy  stole  all  his  money  and  that  you 
stole  all  his  clothes.  I  hope  they  are  well.  Ericson's 
mother  is  in  bed  sick,  because  Axel  told  her  that  Ericson 
tried  to  starve  him  to  death  in  a  pigsty.  What  a  pity  he 
got  out  of  the  pigsty.  Your  mother  told  me  all  this  with 
tears  in  her  eyes.  Then  I  took  out  your  long  letter  that  I 
had  received  a  few  days  before  and  read  it  to  her  and 
showed  him  up  for  the  liar  he  is.  I  told  your  mother 
that  I  would  like  to  hear  the  boy  tell  that  story  over  again, 
because  it  was  so  interesting,  and  to  please  me  your  mother 
sent  your  little  brother  —  he  ain't  much  on  the  grindstone 
—  in  to  the  village  and  asked  Mrs.  Petterson  and  her  son 
Axel  to  come  out  the  next  day  and  take  a  cup  of  tea  with 
grandpa. 

"  The  next  day  they  arrived  at  headquarters  right  on 
time.  Your  little  brother  came  and  told  me  of  it.  I  was 


220  YANKEE    SWANSON 

in  a  good  humour  at  the  time,  had  just  finished  my  after- 
noon pipe,  and  I  also  had  read  a  chapter  or  two  in  the 
Holy  Bible. 

"  When  I  came  in  they  had  already  started  in  to  drink 
their  coffee,  and  between  each  mouthful  they  were  lying 
worse  than  two  Prussian  hussars.  After  having  listened 
to  them  a  bit,  I  told  the  old  woman  I  had  heard  enough, 
and  taking  her  by  the  arm,  I  escorted  her  out  in  the  back- 
yard, and  told  my  dog  Blucher  to  entertain  her  while  I 
polished  up  Axel. 

"  If  the  boy  had  had  any  sense  he  could  easily  have  run 
away,  but  he  is  as  big  a  hog  as  a  liar,  and  he  couldn't 
make  up  his  mind  to  run  away  while  there  was  anything 
left  on  your  mother's  table. 

"  When  I  came  back  he  had  everything  pretty  well  out 
of  sight  except  the  crockery,  and  I  guess  he  would  have 
taken  that  too  if  I  had  left  him  in  peace.  I  took  the 
fellow  by  the  neck  and  stood  him  up  on  the  floor,  and  I 
said,  in  your  mother's  hearing,  e  ~Now  will  you  take  back 
all  you  have  said  about  my  boy  and  everybody  else  on 
board  of  the  Forsette  ? '  He  didn't  answer  me ;  I  guess  he 
thought  that  I  am  too  old  to  do  him  any  harm ;  you  must 
know  I  am  past  ninety  and  not  nearly  as  spry  as  at  Water- 
loo, but  I  soon  made  him.  think  that  he  had  fallen  in  with 
the  Philistines.  Of  all  the  unearthly  yelling  I  ever  heard, 
this  was  the  worst,  but  I  didn't  let  up  on  him  until  he  had 
confessed  that  every  word  he  had  told  your  mother  was  a 
lie.  Your  father  was  out  in  the  barn  when  all  this 
occurred.  He  thought  the  house  was  on  fire  and  came 
running  in  to  see  about  it. 

"  I  was  then  in  the  act  of  putting  the  finishing  touches 
on  the  lad.  Your  father  told  me  that  the  boy  had  -had 
enough  and  to  let  up  on  him,  but  I  cut  him  short  by 
politely  telling  him  that  if  there  was  to  be  interference  he 
would  get  some  too.  Of  course  I  didn't  mean  that ;  I  was 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

a  little  angry  and  you  will  have  to  make  some  allowance 
for  that;  besides  I  could  never  stand  for  children  talking 
back  to  their  parents,  and  he  is  old  enough  to  know  better. 

"  The  very  next  day  Mrs.  Petterson  took  her  son  Axel 
down  to  our  pastor  and  made  a  lot  of  complaints  against 
me.  The  boy  took  off  his  shirt  and  showed  the  pastor 
what  damage  I  had  done.  It  must  have  been  considerable 
by  all  accounts,  and  was  the  colour  of  a  rainbow.  The 
pastor  is  a  fine  man,  but  I  don't  like  to  be  interfered  with 
when  I  attend  to  my  own  business;  at  the  same  time  I 
didn't  like  to  say  anything  to  hurt  his  feelings  when  he 
called.  I  therefore  just  showed  him  your  letter,  which 
he  read  right  through  and  when  he  had  finished  he  con- 
gratulated me  for  having  done  so  well  for  a  man  of  my 
years,  and  told  me  that  if  the  boy  called  on  him  again  he 
would  put  a  few  finishing  touches  on  him  that  he  wouldn't 
forget  in  a  hurry. 

"  That  French  boy,  Le  Fevre,  seems  to  be  a  smart  fel- 
low. Ask  him  if  he  is  any  relation  to  Marshal  Le  Fevre. 
I  served  under  him  at  Danzig,  and  found  him  a  good  man, 
and  I  would  like  to  see  that  boy.  Bring  him  along  if  he 
wants  to  come.  He  can  stay  with  me  and  your  grand- 
mother and  will  be  in  nobody's  way.  Perhaps  he  will  be 
handy  at  the  grindstone.  The  tools  are  in^  a  pretty  bad 
shape  just  now.  I  tell  you  why  I  want  him  to  come,  but 
this  is  between  ourselves.  Don't  tell  your  father  about  it ; 
if  you  do,  he  will  make  fun  of  me.  I  am  not  sure  of  my 
French  any  longer,  and  I  want  to  find  out  how  much  I  do 
know,  because  I  intend  to  make  a  trip  to  France  in  a 
couple  of  years  or  so  to  see  the  Emperor's  grave.  I  have 
not  seen  it  now  since  we  buried  him,  and  that  was  in 
1840. 

"  Of  course  your  mother  has  told  you  all  about  your 
brother,  so  it  would  only  be  wasting  paper  for  me  to  say 
any  more,  but  it  was  a  grand  deed,  I  think.  It  must  have 


222  YANKEE    SWANSON 

been,  when  the  Englishmen  say  so,  because  they  know  a 
good  sailor  when  they  see  him,  and  it  is  fair  play  with 
them,  although  I  can't  say  I  am  in  love  with  them.  We 
had  them  licked  at  Waterloo;  Wellington  himself  said 
that;  but  still  they  won. 

"  I  now  want  to  warn  you  against  the  Russians,  and 
finish  for  this  time.  Don't  ever  go  near  them  if  you  can 
help  it;  rich  or  poor,  they  are  all  lousy.  A  Russian 
gentleman  has  more  lice  than  my  old  dog  Blucher  has 
fleas,  so  you  know  how  bad  they  must  be.  It  was  really 
lice  that  destroyed  the  Grande  Armee,  but  don't  say  any- 
thing about  that;  it  sounds  bad,  and  I  don't  want  it  to  be 
generally  known.  You  see,  after  they  burnt  up  Moscow 
we  ran  shy  of  clothes  and  had  to  pick  up  anything  we 
could  get  hold  of,  and  that  was  the  result. 

"  My  best  regards  to  your  friend  Swanson  and  the  boy. 
Take  fine  care  of  the  dog,  and  be  sure  to  bring  him  home, 
because  Blucher  will  soon  pass  in  his  checks. 
"  Your  loving  grandpa, 

"  NILS  HANSON." 

While  I  was  reading  grandpa's  letter  I  laughed  a  great 
deal ;  it  was  so  original.  He  wrote  just  as  he  was  wont  to 
relate  things  when  I  was  with  him,  seated  in  some  place, 
listening  to  his  marvellous  tales. 

Having  concluded,  Jack  wanted  to  know  what  all  the 
fun  was  about,  I  handed  him  grandpa's  letter  and  told 
him  that  it  contained  an  invitation  for  him  to  come  home 
to  Sweden  to  stay  as  long  as  he  liked,  provided  he  was 
handy  at  the  grindstone. 

I  also  told  him  about  Axel's  arrival,  and  his  treachery. 
"  But,"  I  said,  "  this  will  be  good  practice ;  you  read  it 
yourself,  or  let  Herald  help  you.  I  shan't  disturb  you." 
And  leaving  Jack  to  his  task,  I  left  and  went  on  board 
the  Progress  to  visit  my  friend  Sambo. 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

Sambo  had  a  fine  feed  for  me.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
not  been  to  the  cook-house  at  all  that  day,  having  done  all 
the  cooking  in  the  cabin,  for  the  crew  included;  this  on 
account  of  Slocume  having  company  on  board.  He  also 
told  me  that  the  captain  had  greased  up  the  custom  officer 
a  little  more  and  given  him  a  good  meal  besides. 

After  a  while  Sambo  said  he  was  in  the  right  about  our 
mate  Swanson.  "  He  is  the  man  all  right,  and  he  is  in 
the  cabin  now  with  the  rest  of  the  company.  I  knew  all 
along  that  Slocume  couldn't  be  mistaken,  for  he  has  a 
splendid  memory."  I  told  Sambo  I  was  glad  to  hear  it 
and  hoped  they  would  be  good  friends.  "  Yes,  indeed, 
said  Sambo,  "  they  are  good  friends.  Slocume  is  a  fine 
man,  and  he  has  a  soft  spot  for  anybody  that  can  fight." 

In  the  evenings,  after  our  day's  work  was  done  we  used 
to  have  a  great  deal  of  fun.  The  crews  from  the  different 
vessels  would  gather  in  the  lumber  yard,  and  there  we  had 
wrestling  and  boxing  matches,  and  wound  up  with  dancing 
and  music,  both  instrumental  and  vocal.  The  Germans 
as  a  rule  were  the  best  musicians,  but  their  instruments 
consisted  mostly  of  accordions.  One  fellow,  boatswain  on 
a  German  ship,  was  the  owner  of  an  instrument  that  had 
six  rows  of  keys.  He  was  really  an  expert  on  that  instru- 
ment, and  played  classical  pieces  as  well  as  dance  music. 

When  it  came  to  dancing,  my  friend  Jack  was  much 
sought  after,  and  it  was  generally  admitted  that  he  was 
the  champion  of  the  step-dancers,  although  some  of  the 
English  and  Scots  apprentice  boys  from  the  different  Brit- 
ish vessels  were  very  good  also. 

The  German  boatswain  did  not  know  any  of  Jack's 
fancy  pieces,  but  he  was  extremely  smart  at  picking  them 
up.  Jack  would  play  them  once  or  twice  on  the  tin 
whistle  carefully,  after  which  the  boatswain  would  rattle 
it  off  on  the  accordion  as  easily  as  though  he  had  known 
them  a  long  time. 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

The  young  English  apprentices  were  very  nice,  well  be- 
haved boys,  mostly  gentlemen's  sons.  I  became  very 
friendly  with  some  of  them  and  years  afterward  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  several  of  them  as  masters  of  large 
steamships,  and  we  found  it  a  great  pleasure  to  talk  about 
old  times  at  Archangel. 

I  remember  on  one  occasion  in  particular.  It  was  in 
1898,  during  the  Spanish-American  war,  I  met  one  of  the 
apprentice  boys  of  the  Glengarry.  It  was  in  Panama 
we  met.  I  was  then  first  officer  of  a  Pacific  Mail  steamer, 
the  Costa  Rica,  and  we  took  our  steamer  alongside  of  an 
English  sailing  vessel  to  receive  fuel  from  her.  The  cap- 
tain of  this  vessel  was  my  former  apprentice  boy  acquaint- 
ance, and  the  strange  part  of  it  was  that  this  man  recog- 
nised me  at  once,  twenty-one  years  after  we  had  met,  and 
then  only  for  a  brief  five  or  six  weeks'  time.  I  have 
always  prided  myself  upon  a  good  memory,  but  this  man's 
memory  was  something  out  of  the  ordinary.  He  reminded 
me  of  things  that  I  had  said  and  done,  and  which  I  had 
forgotten  all  about ;  but  they  soon  came  back  to  me  as  plain 
as  anything,  after  he  had  pricked  up  my  memory  a  little. 
We  spent  about  a  week  together  there  at  Panama,  and 
every  evening  it  was  the  same  thing  over  again,  one  con- 
tinual round  of  pleasure  talking  over  the  old  times  at 
Archangel.  I  had  to  give  him  an  account  of  Yankee 
Swanson,  who  he  was  pleased  to  know  was  still  alive,  and 
then  living  in  New  York,  where  he  was  doing  watchman's 
duty  in  the  Van  Husen  Co.'s  watching  establishment.  He 
had  heard  all  about  our  terrible  passage  to  England,  and 
had  often  wrondered  what  had  become  of  my  friend  Le 
Fevre  and  me.  Our  cook,  he  told  me,  was  the  greatest 
liar  he  had  ever  met;  in  fact,  he  told  me  he  was  known  in 
every  port  in  Great  Britain  as  being  the  champion  liar 
twenty  years  ago.  I  made  enquiries  about  that  hard 
citizen  Irish,  and  the  captain  informed  me  that  Irish 


YANKEE    SWANSON  225 

never  got  hard  again  after  Yankee  Swanson  once  made 
him  soft.  He  had  left  the  Glengarry  in  Australia  and  the 
captain  had  never  heard  from  him  since. 

One  day  the  captain  said  to  me,  "  Come  on  board  and 
have  lunch.  I  want  to  show  you  something  that  will  re- 
mind you  of  Russia."  After  we  had  finished  our  lunch 
the  captain  took  out  a  sketchbook,  a  very  large  volume 
which  he  told  me  he  had  sketched  in  since  the  first  voyage 
he  had  made  at  sea.  "  Look  through  that  and  I  think  you 
will  find  something  that  will  interest  you."  As  every 
sketch  was  dated,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  what  I 
thought  would  be  of  interest  to  me.  1877  was  in  the 
beginning  of  the  book,  and  there  I  found  myself  and  Jack 
step-dancing  in  the  lumber  yard ;  also  Jack,  Nap  and  the 
cook  on  the  plank  road  to  the  cook-house.  There  was 
Yankee  Swanson  dancing  around  Irish,  delivering  sledge 
hammer  blows.  Even  the  two  Dutchmen  on  top  of  the 
lumber  pile,  and  Napoleon,  very  hostile-looking  below, 
very  lifelike  indeed,  were  there.  He  also  had  a  sketch 
of  the  old  Forsette  with  her  deckload  of  lumber  piled  as 
high  as  the  railing.  It  certainly  did  remind  me  of  old 
times,  and  I  made  the  captain  an  offer  of  buying  them. 
He  would  not  hear  of  it,  but  promised  to  resketch  those 
that  were  of  interest  to  me  and  mail  them  to  me  from  his 
next  port.  This  was  equally  satisfactory,  and  I  received 
the  sketches  some  time  afterward  from  San  Francisco. 

One  day,  just  at  the  noon  hour,  we  had  come  up  from 
the  hold  to  eat  our  dinner,  and  as  yet,  Jack,  who  had,  up 
to  that  time,  been  most  punctual,  had  not  arrived  with 
the  victuals.  Everybody  wondered  the  reason  of  it,  and 
Swanson  told  me  to  go  and  find  out,  thinking  that  there 
had  been  a  collision  of  some  kind  or  another  on  the  narrow 
plank  road. 

I  went  on  shore,  walked  through  the  lumber  yard  and 
out  on  the  road.  I  had  not  gone  far  when  I  saw  that 


226  YANKEE    SWANSON 

something  unusual  had  happened.  There  were  Sambo 
and  Jack  loaded  down  with  cooking  utensils,  coming  along 
the  road,  with  Nap  and  the  wagon  in  the  rear.  This  was 
something  unusual,  indeed.  There  was  also  a  Russian 
behind,  pushing  on  the  wagon.  As  I  approached  the  cara- 
van I  saw  that  the  wagon  was  loaded  with  cooks,  very 
badly  used  up  cooks  at  that. 

It  appeared  that  there  had  been  a  general  row  at  the 
cook-house.  Some  cook  had  stolen  ham  and  bacon  from 
Sambo's  stores,  and  our  cook  accused  the  German  cook,  of 
lumber  pile  fame,  of  having  taken  them.  The  German  be- 
came very  much  offended  at  that,  and  knocked  our  cook 
down  with  a  copper  sauce  pan.  The  cook  of  the  Glenr 
garry,  being  friendly  with  our  cook,  retaliated  on  the 
German  with  a  soup  kettle,  with  the  result  that  the  Ger- 
man went  down  and  out.  This  brought  on  a  general  en- 
gagement. Our  cook,  who  always  classed  himself  a  Brit- 
isher when  the  occasion  suited,  rallied  all  the  British 
cooks.  Kettles  and  pans,  as  well  as  firewood,  came  in 
general  use.  The  Germans  somewhat  outnumbered  the 
British,  who  were  of  necessity  obliged  to  retreat  out  of  the 
cook-house. 

Once  out  on  the  plank  road,  numbers  did  not  count  to 
such  disadvantage  for  the  Britishers  as  in  the  cook-house, 
because  only  two  cooks  could  face  one  another  on  the  plank 
road. 

One  big  Scotchman,  stronger  than  any  of  the  rest,  took 
a  stand  on  the  road  and  defied  the  enemy  to  come  on. 
After  a  council  of  war  they  decided  to  charge,  and  on  they 
came  in  single  file  to  dispose  of  the  Scot.  The  Scotchman 
stood  his  ground  in  fine  style  until  five  Dutch  cooks  were 
wallowing  in  the  mire  up  to  their  elbows. 

In  the  meantime  the  soldiers  had  been  ordered  out  to 
put  down  the  riot.  They  were  led  by  a  petty  officer  who, 
seeing  that  the  cooks  were  armed  with  all  sorts  of  deadly 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

implements,  from  a  soup  kettle  to  a  red  hot  poker,  ordered 
the  soldiers  to  charge  and  use  the  butt  end  of  the  guns. 
This  was  by  all  accounts  uncalled  for,  because  the  cooks 
did  not  resist  the  soldiers,  in  fact  they  all  laid  down  their 
arms  when  the  soldiers  appeared  on  the  scene,  but  the 
brutal  soldiery  took  pleasure  in  beating  up  the  poor  cooks. 
Some  of  them  were  very  badly  hurt. 

Sambo  was  the  only  one  of  the  cooks  whom  the  soldiers 
did  not  molest ;  this  on  account  of  his  having  given  them 
a  feed  once  in  a  while  when  they  were  on  duty  in  the 
lumber  yard. 

Jack  and  his  rig  had  just  come  on  the  scene  when  the 
fight  was  over,  so  for  that  reason  they  were  not  molested 
at  all. 

The  officer  and  his  band  of  cut-throats  went  into  the 
cook-house  and  ate  up  everything  in  sight,  and  if  it  had 
not  been  for  Sambo,  whose  stuff  was  not  molested,  we 
would  have  been  without  anything  to  eat  for  that  dinner ; 
but  Sambo,  who  was  friendly  with  Jack  and  our  cook, 
divided  with  them  and  we  got  sufficient  to  go  around. 

The  cook  of  the  Glengarry  had  an  ankle  sprained  and 
could  not  walk.  Sambo  and  Jack  pulled  him  out  of  the 
mire  with  some  difficulty  and  piled  him  into  the  dog 
wagon.  Our  cook  said  that  he  would  have  to  ride  too, 
because  he  felt  so  dizzy  that  he  was  afraid  he  would  step 
off  the  road  and  get  tangled  up  in  the  tundra.  Accord- 
ingly he  was  piled  in  also  and  in  that  state  I  met  them 
on  the  road.  Rescuing  parties  were  sent  out  from  the 
other  vessels  to  gather  in  their  wounded,  and  many  a  sailor 
went  hungry  that  day  all  on  account  of  this  fight. 

Our  cook's  injuries  were  not  serious  at  all  —  at  least 
Swanson  told  him  they  were  not.  He  told  Swanson  that 
he  would  require  a  couple  of  day's  rest  to  get  over  the 
dizziness,  but  Swanson  said  it  was  a  mistake,  that  the 
rest  would  only  make  it  worse,  and  so  after  having  re- 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

ceived  a  little  medicine,  inwardly,  from  Captain  Beng- 
ston's  bottle,  he  resumed  his  duties  at  the  cook-house  that 
very  afternoon,  and  he  had  the  honour  of  being  the  only 
cook  out  of  the  bunch  that  took  part  in  that  fight  who  did. 

The  hold  being  nearly  full,  we  could  not  use  the  bow- 
ports  any  longer,  and  for  that  reason  we  unmoored  and 
took  the  vessel  starboard  side  to  the  wharf,  to  finish  filling 
up  through  the  hatches  and  to  put  on  the  deckload. 

The  weather  had  been  quite  nice  the  whole  time  we  had 
been  at  work,  but  now  the  last  days  of  September  it  com- 
menced to  rain,  which  made  it  very  uncomfortable.  The 
tundra  was  in  a  fearful  state,  and  even  the  lumber  yard, 
which  was  covered  with  planks,  was  such  that  the  slush 
and  dirty  water  squirted  all  over  one  when  walking  on  it. 

Jack  and  Nap  were  exempt  from  doing  any  more  wood 
gathering,  except  what  would  be  needed  at  the  cook-house. 
One  reason  of  this  was  that  Jack  had  everything  nearly  all 
filled  up  with  wood,  enough  to  last  our  cook  until  we  got 
back  to  Sweden. 

After  the  deckload  was  on,  we  ran  out  a  kedge  anchor 
and  warped  the  vessel  out  to  midstream,  there  to  remain  a 
few  days  to  get  everything  in  ship-shape  to  make  a  winter 
passage,  which  we  expected  to  be  a  long  one. 

Hemp  cordage  was  very  cheap  in  Russia,  and  Captain 
Bengston  laid  in  a  good  supply  of  hemp  rope.  We  rove 
off  new  braces  throughout,  and  made  new  tacks  and  sheets 
for  the  courses;  besides,  if  any  part  of  the  running  rig- 
ging did  not  look  just  right,  Swanson  had  it  renewed. 

The  foretop  gallant  mast  was  a  little  decayed  under 
the  eyes  of  the  rigging.  Swanson  sent  it  down  and  a 
spare  one  we  had  on  deck  was  sent  up.  Ericson  was  a 
cracker-jack  at  stowing  lumber,  and  Swanson  left  the  stow- 
ing of  the  deckload,  as  well  as  the  securing  of  it  to  him  en- 
tirely. He  made  a  splendid  job  of  it,  and  when  it  was  fin- 
ished it  was  as  level  as  the  deck  itself.  Captain  Bengston 


YANKEE    SWANSON  229 

had  gone  up  to  Archangel  to  finish  up  his  business  and  to 
clear  the  ship  for  Newport,  England.  He  intended  to  re- 
main in  town  until  Swanson  notified  him  that  everything 
was  in  order  for  going  to  sea.  This  Swanson  did,  but 
Bengston  telegraphed  back  that  we  would  not  sail  for  three 
or  four  days  yet  because  the  stores  that  he  had  ordered  for 
the  voyage  could  not  be  got  before  that  time,  and  besides, 
he  expected  to  hear  from  the  owners  of  the  vessel  before  he 
sailed. 

Having  this  extra  time  on  his  hands  and  everything 
ready  for  sea,  Swanson  put  us  to  work  to  clean  up  the 
fo'cs'le,  galley,  and  the  cabin.  In  fact,  every  place  in  the 
old  craft  was  thoroughly  scrubbed  out,  Swanson  inspecting 
it  himself,  and  if  not  to  his  liking  we  had  to  go  over  it 
again. 

Sambo  had  made  Jack  a  present  of  a  bale  of  hay,  which 
we  now  made  good  use  of  and  restuffed  our  mattresses 
with  it.  Jack  fixed  up  the  den  and  decorated  the  walls 
with  pictures.  I  also  hung  up  my  pictures  in  the  den.  I 
had  several,  among  them  one  of  grandpa  in  uniform  taken 
many  years  back.  Besides  my  pictures  I  also  kept  my 
heirlooms  and  good  clothes  in  Jack's  den,  and  it  was  a 
lucky  thing  I  did,  as  we  shall  see  a  little  later  on. 

The  cooking  was  now  done  on  board  vessel,  and  the 
cook  was  glad  of  it.  He  told  me  he  had  never  been  so 
disgusted  with  anything  in  his  life  as  he  was  with  the 
cooking  arrangements  at  that  port. 

"  Why,  man  alive,"  he  would  say,  "  I  haven't  been  able 
to  get  a  drink  during  the  whole  time  I  have  been  up  at 
that  dirty  hole  working  like  a  nigger  and  scrapping  like 
a  Turk  every  day,  and  no  one  ever  said  as  much  as  thank 
you  to  me,  and  now  I  find  out  that  the  old  man  has  been 
keeping  open  house  and  that  fellow  Ericson  has  had  full 
charge  of  the  bottle.  Well,  if  that  ain't  enough  to  drive 
a  fellow  to  drink  if  he  could  get  it,  I  don't  know.  I  know 


230  YANKEE    SWANSON 

I  would  if  anybody  was  to  tempt  me,  but  no  fear  of  any- 
body asking  me  to  take  a  drink.  That  fellow  Ericson  has 
been  guzzling  up  the  whole  lot  while  I  have  been  away.  I 
looked  in  the  storeroom  to-day  and  found  that  there  are 
six  cases  empty,  good  stuff,  too,  mind  you  —  gin  —  and 
me  not  getting  a  smell.  Well,  I  suppose  it  is  all  right, 
but  you  will  find  there  will  be  no  more  splicing  the  main 
brace  on  the  way  home,  not  after  reefing  topsails.  They 
will  miss  it  then,  and  no  mistake,  and  you  will  find  that 
we  will  have  lots  of  reefing  before  we  get  to  Newport,  if 
we  ever  get  there.  You  and  Jack  will  both  be  sailors 
before  we  get  to  old  England,  believe  me." 

One  evening,  just  before  supper,  we  lowered  the  dingy, 
and  Jack  and  I  put  Swanson  over  on  the  Progress,  he 
having  been  invited  to  take  supper  with  Captain  Slocume 
and  his  wife.  Swanson  told  us  to  make  the  boat  fast  and 
to  come  up,  as  he  intended  to  stay  a  long  time.  We  were 
glad  of  that,  because  we  knew  that  Sambo  would  have 
something  for  us  also,  much  better  than  we  could  get  on 
board  the  Forsette.  Sambo  received  us  with  open  arms 
and  told  us  we  would  have  a  supper  after  they  were 
through  in  the  cabin. 

Sambo  had  a  fire  in  the  galley  that  evening,  and  I  asked 
him  if  he  was  not  afraid  of  getting  into  trouble  through  it. 
He  told  me  there  was  no  danger,  because  he  had  just 
finished  greasing  up  the  custom  house  officer  with  a  bottle 
of  Jamaica  rum,  very  powerful  stuff,  and  that  the  officer 
had  dropped  off  to  sleep,  and  most  likely  would  not  wake 
up  before  morning.  I  asked  Sambo  if  he  could  not  make 
me  a  present  of  a  little  of  that  stuff,  just  enough  for  one 
small  drink  for  our  cook,  who  was  feeling  real  blue  that 
evening.  He  said  he  would  do  so  with  pleasure,  but  he 
said  he  did  not  think  rum  would  be  sufficiently  powerful 
to  suit  our  cook.  He  had  tried  him  on  it  before,  and  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

cook  had  said  that  it  would  do  for  marines,  but  not  for  a 
genuine  first-class  cook.  "  But,"  said  Sambo,  "  I  have  a 
little  of  that  Russian  stuff  aft  in  my  cabin,  and  I  will  let 
you  have  a  bottle  of  that.  Your  cook  is  very  fond  of  it. 
I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  giving  him  a  bottle  a  day  of 
that  stuff,  because  of  his  kindness  of  allowing  Jack  to 
fetch  my  cooking  utensils  and  the  wood." 

Jack  laughed,  and  looked  at  me  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Are 
you  on  — "  How  dry  our  cook  must  have  been ;  just  one 
little  bottle  a  day.  No  wonder  he  complained  so  bitterly 
about  the  treatment  he  had  received  from  the  cooks,  but 
he  didn't  say  anything  about  the  way  Sambo  had  treated 
him.  Sometimes  he  would  remark  that  the  nigger  was 
the  only  decent  fellow  at  the  cook-house,  and  that  he  had 
gone  to  some  trouble  toward  helping  him  out  with  certain 
luxuries  that  the  nigger  didn't  know  much  about,  but  as 
yet  he,  even  he,  hadn't  said  turkey,  and  he  thougth  that 
was  a  little  mean. 

It  was  now  supper-time  in  the  cabin  and  Sambo  went  aft 
to  wait  on  the  table.  He  said  it  would  be  an  hour  or  more 
before  he  could  give  us  anything,  so  told  us  to  go  and  see 
our  friends  on  the  English  ship  and  have  a  good  time. 
"  Take  that  dog  N"ap  along  with  you,"  he  said,  "  I  am 
afraid  to  be  left  alone  with  him,  although  as  yet  he  has 
never  snapped  at  me,  but  I'm  not  going  to  run  any  chances 
of  getting  used  up  like  them  two  Dutchmen."  Then  tak- 
ing out  a  piece  of  meat,  Nap  was  treated  to  it,  and  Sambo, 
overcome  with  the  ridiculous  situation  of  the  two  Dutch- 
men on  the  lumber  pile,  burst  out  in  a  laugh  that  could 
easily  have  been  heard  on  board  the  Glengarry. 

The  apprentice  boys  were  glad  to  see  us.  They  were 
having  their  supper  when  we  arrived,  and  a  very  poor  one 
at  that;  not  even  as  good  as  on  board  the  Forsette;  tea  and 
hard-tack,  no  butter  and  no  meat.  They  asked  us  to  join 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

them,  but  we  excused  ourselves,  telling  them  we  had  an 
invitation  to  supper  from  Sambo.  The  poor  boys'  mouths 
almost  ran  water  when  they  heard  of  our  luck. 

They  had  a  nice  place  all  to  themselves,  with  a  locker 
for  each  boy,  also  a  desk  used  by  the  boys  for  navigating 
on.  They  took  pleasure  in  showing  us  their  navigation 
work  they  had  done  on  the  trip  out.  It  was  very  inter- 
esting to  us,  although  we  knew  nothing  about  it,  of  course. 
In  a  way  they  had  much  better  times  of  it  than  we  had, 
and  they  seemed  to  think  that  we  were  awfully  abused 
with  hard  work,  and  wondered  how  we  could  stand  it  at 
all. 

Irish,  the  fallen  champion,  had  commenced  to  do  a 
little  work  again  after  the  Forsette  had  hauled  out  on  the 
stream.  He  had  been  too  ashamed  of  himself  to  show  up 
while  there  was  a  chance  for  Swanson  to  get  a  look  at  him. 
Jack  and  I  were  anxious  to  see  him,  but  he  knew  that  we 
were  on  board  and  would  not  give  us  the  satisfaction, 
thinking  that  we  would  tell  Swanson  of  his  looks. 

The  boys  said  that  he  was  a  different  man  altogether, 
and  if  he  ever  got  fresh  again  it  was  understood  among 
themselves  that  they  were  going  to  tackle  him  and  finish 
him  up  for  good. 

One  boy  asked  me  if  Swanson  ever  beat  up  anybody  as 
bad  as  Irish,  and  I  told  him  how  he  sent  MacDougall  to  the 
hospital  at  Grangemouth,  MacDougall  being  classed  the 
best  scrapper  in  Scotland  at  that.  They  looked  at  me  in 
wonderment,  and  shook  their  heads  in  a  manner  as  if 
doubting  what  I  said,  but  Jack  backed  me  up  in  the  asser- 
tion and  said  that  he  had  been  an  eyewitness  to  it,  as  well 
as  I. 

Our  cook  had  informed  the  cook  on  the  Glengarry  that 
when  we  got  to  England  he  intended  to  make  an  honest 
pound  or  two  out  of  all  the  trouble  and  time  he  had  spent 
the  last  three  months  teaching  Jack  and  me  how  to  step- 


233 

dance  and  box.  He  also  had  said  that  we  were  not  very 
smart  at  picking  up  things,  and  that  he  had  had  a  lot  more 
trouble  with  us  than  he  had  had  with  the  dog  jSTap,  who 
really  was  a  wonder  in  the  dog  line,  and  that  an  English 
lord  with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted  had  offered  him 
fifty  pounds  for  the  dog.  The  lord  wanted  him  very  badly 
indeed,  as  he  intended  to  make  King  Oscar  a  present  of 
the  dog.  He  also  had  a  harpoon  that  he  intended  to 
exhibit  in  England;  in  short,  between  the  boys,  the  dog, 
and  the  harpoon,  he  had  a  snap  and  no  mistake. 

"We  informed  the  boys  that  it  was  all  lies  the  cook  had 
told ;  that  he  had  not  had  a  thing  to  do  with  training  the 
dog,  nor  with  teaching  us  how  to  dance  or  box,  and  by  way 
of  having  something  to  say,  we  commenced  to  relate  a 
number  of  things  that  had  happened  between  the  dog  and 
the  cook,  which  the  boys  thought  were  real  funny,  and 
they  laughed  heartily. 

We  shook  hands  and  said  good-bye  and  hoped  we  would 
meet  again  in  some  other  part  of  the  world,  which  we  did 
many  years  afterward,  some  of  us,  and  under  different 
circumstances. 

We  had  stayed  rather  longer  than  we  had  expected  to. 
Sambo  had  our  supper  ready  when  we  came  on  board,  and 
it  was  a  feast  pure  and  simple  for  us.  We  wound  up  with 
a  piece  of  hot  mince  pie  and  a  cup  of  coffee. 

It  was  near  midnight  when  Swanson  shouted  to  us  to  get 
into  the  boat.  He  had  had  a  good  time,  I  think,  because 
he  was  in  a  good  humour  and  chatted  with  us  as  we  rowed 
on  board.  We  dropped  the  boat  astern  and  took  ourselves 
off  to  our  bunks.  Even  that  seemed  a  treat  almost  as  good 
as  Sambo's  feast,  because  everything  was  clean  and  the 
scent  of  the  fresh  hay  in  the  mattresses  added  a  certain 
amount  of  comfort  to  our  rest. 

The  following  morning  the  weather  was  bitter  cold,  and 
thin  ice  covered  the  harbour.  It  also  snowed  a  little. 


As  everything  was  ready  to  go  to  sea  at  a  moment's 
notice,  Swanson  gave  us  the  day  off.  We  got  busy  and 
spent  the  day  mending  clothes  and  darning  stockings. 

Herald,  the  handy  man,  who  was  always  on  the  look- 
out for  some  improvement,  rigged  up  a  little  stove  in  the 
fo'cs'le,  which  proved  to  be  a  bonanza  during  the  passage 
to  England,  because,  thanks  to  Jack,  we  were  well  supplied 
with  fuel  and  could  keep  our  clothes  dry  without  having 
to  ask  the  cook  for  that  great  favour. 

The  5th  of  October  was  a  fine,  clear  day,  but  very  cold. 
Captain  Bengston  having  settled  his  accounts,  came  on 
board  in  the  morning.  The  stores  that  he  had  bought 
came  alongside  on  a  lighter,  and  we  got  busy  taking  them 
on  board. 

At  noon,  the  same  old  tugboat  that  had  brought  us  in 
came  to  take  us  out,  and  we  manned  the  windlass,  all 
hands  and  the  cook.  Having  hove  in  to  a  short  scope,  we 
passed  the  hawser  to  the  tug,  which  steamed  out  ahead  of 
us  and  put  a  little  strain  on  it.  Manning  the  windlass 
again,  we  broke  out  the  anchor  and  made  a  signal  to  the 
tug  to  go  ahead.  As  we  gathered  headway  we  dipped  our 
ensign  to  the  Glengarry  and  Progress,  who  responded,  their 
apprentice  boys  cheering  and  waving  us  good-bye,  and  old 
Sambo  on  the  Progress  did  likewise,  wishing  us  a  happy 
voyage. 

We  set  our  fore  and  aft  sails  to  help  the  tug  along, 
after  which  we  catted  and  fished  the  anchor,  and  were  off 
for  old  England  once  more,  leaving  no  regrets  after  us, 
except  the  apprentice  boys  on  the  Glengarry  and  old 
Sambo. 

The  wind  was  northerly,  a  moderate  breeze.  Having 
stowed  the  anchor  we  set  the  lower  and  upper  topsails  and 
braced  up  sharp.  The  tug  made  a  prearranged  signal, 
and  cast  off  the  hawser.  It  tooted  us  good-bye  and  went 
back  to  Solombola.  We  set  all  our  sails  and  in  a  little 


YANKEE    SWANSON  235 

while  we  were  going  along  at  a  pretty  good  clip,  and  better 
still,  the  wind  hauling  gradually  to  the  eastward  enabled 
us  to  lay  our  course. 

The  decks  having  been  cleared  up  and  all  running  gear 
coiled  down  in  shipshape,  all  hands  were  called  aft  to  get 
a  big  drink  out  of  the  small  glass,  after  which  the  watches 
were  set;  Bengston  explaining  that  he  was  well  satisfied 
with  the  work  we  had  done  at  Archangel,  and  furthermore, 
that  henceforth  it  would  be  watch  and  watch  for  the 
voyage  to  England  and  home.  "  If  everything  goes  well," 
said  the  skipper,  "  we  will  be  home  and  in  winter  quarters 
by  Christmas.  But,'*  he  concluded,  "  we  have  a  long,  hard 
road  to  travel  between  now  and  then." 

The  wind  continued  to  be  fair  for  several  days  and  we 
made  fine  progress;  ten  knots  per  hour  was  our  average 
speed  for  several  days. 

A  week  out  from  Archangel  we  were  up  to  the  North 
Cape  and  up  to  that  time  everything  had  been  in  our 
favour.  Then  came  a  change  that  we  to  a  certain  extent 
expected,  but  never  thought  would  last  so  long.  It  con- 
tinued to  blow  from  the  west  and  SW  for  a  whole  month, 
almost,  without  a  let-up,  and  during  the  greater  part  of 
that  time  we  were  hove  to  under  the  lower  topsails  and  a 
storm  trysail. 

I  had  often  heard  of  the  terrible  hardships  some  ships' 
crews  had  experienced  in  making  a  winter  passage  to  the 
westward  across  the  Atlantic,  or  rounding  the  Horn  in  the 
winter  months,  and  even  on  board  the  Forsette  it  was  a 
daily  occurrence  to  hear  somebody  relate  of  fearful  suffer- 
ings they  had  undergone  in  some  vessel  or  other ;  but  still 
there  we  were  on  board  the  old  Forsette  in  the  month  of 
November,  73  degrees  north,  and  as  yet  I  had  not  seen  any- 
body suffer  worth  mentioning.  To  be  sure,  it  was  cold  — 
below  zero  at  times  —  and  there  was  no  lack  of  snow,  but 
we  had  plenty  of  good  winter  clothing  that  kept  us  warm 


236  YANKEE    SWANSON 

while  on  deck,  and  when  below  we  were  very  comfortable, 
thanks  to  Herald  and  his  little  stove. 

•We  got  plenty  to  eat,  such  as  it  was,  salt  beef  and  pork, 
pea  soup,  tea,  coffee,  and  hard-tack.  It  was  very  rarely 
that  anybody  got  wet,  because  the  old  craft  laid  like  a 
duck,  and  what  water  she  took  over  did  not  bother  us  any, 
because  the  deckload  was  on  a  level  with  the  rails. 

The  wheel  being  lashed  down  for  days  at  a  time  dis- 
pensed with  a  man  at  the  wheel,  and  as  for  keeping  a 
lookout  in  that  part  of  the  world  during  the  winter  months, 
it  could  just  as  well  be  dispensed  with,  because  there  are 
no  vessels  going  to  the  eastward  then. 

Every  noon  if  the  sea  was  not  running  too  high  we  used 
to  wear  ship.  That  was  work,  because  as  a  rule  we  had 
to  get  more  sail  on  her  to  give  steerage  way,  and  after  get- 
ting her  around  on  the  other  tack  we  took  them  off  her 
again.  The  sailors  liked  that,  because  after  it  was  done, 
as  a  rule  the  old  man  would  shout,  "  Lay  aft  here 
and  splice  the  main  brace,"  contrary  to  the  cook's  pre- 
diction that  there  would  be  no  more  of  that  after  Ericson 
and  his  lumberjacks  had  finished  up  six  cases  of  good 
gin. 

It  is  really  strange  what  a  sailor  who  has  a  liking  for 
strong  liquor  —  and  most  of  them  have  —  will  do  to  get 
a  little  of  it,  more  so  if  at  sea,  when  it  is  impossible  to  get 
any,  unless,  as  in  our  case,  the  captain  happens  to  be  a 
man  of  the  kind  who  believes  in  treating  his  men  to  a  drink 
when  they,  in  his  opinion,  are  doing  hard  or  hazardous 
work. 

The  cook  as  a  rule  did  not  like  to  lend  a  hand  on  deck, 
unless  he  felt  sure  that  there  was  a  drink  in  it  for  him, 
and  if  at  any  time  he  slipped  up  in  his  calculations,  the 
old  man  came  in  for  a  hauling  over  the  coals  that  would 
not  look  well  in  print.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  got  his 
drink,  and  if  it  happened  to  be  out  of  the  big  glass,  he 


YANKEE    SWANSON  237 

would  say  that  the  old  man  was  not  half  bad  and  that  he 
had  sailed  with  men  that  were  a  d — n  sight  worse. 
"  Pity,"  the  cook  would  say,  "  that  the  owners  don't  give 
the  old  man  a  better  vessel.  He  certainly  is  a  first  class 
sailor,  no  one  can  gainsay  that.  That  Yankee  Swanson 
will  never  see  the  day  when  he  can  handle  a  vessel  under 
sail  like  the  old  man  can.  As  for  that  ungainly  ice-bear 
Ericson,  I  wouldn't  trust  him  in  a  yawl  boat  on  a  creek; 
and  talk  about  navigation,  haw,  haw,  haw,  the  Lord  save 
us,  it  makes  me  laugh  when  I  think  of  it.  I  came  into 
the  cabin  yesterday  when  my  bold  Eric  Ericson  was  figur- 
ing out  the  ship's  position  —  that's  what  he  called  it.  He 
looked  worried,  and  by  way  of  being  sociable,  I  asked  him 
if  I  could  do  anything  for  him.  '  Do  anything  for  me, 
you  old  fool/  he  said,  l  can't  you  see  I'm  navigating. 
Now  you  disturbed  me  and  I  lost  run  of  her  and  will  have 
to  do  it  all  over  again/  And  with  that  he  threw  the  paper 
he  had  been  figuring  on  away.  I  picked  it  up  and  looked 
at  it,  first  one  way  and  then  another,  because  it  was  a 
most  difficult  matter  to  make  out  which  end  of  it  should 
be  up  or  down.  I  used  to  be  a  fairly  good  hand  at  figur- 
ing myself  one  time,  but  this  was  too  much  for  me.  I 
burst  out  laughing,  and  Ericson  said,  'Well,  what  are 
you  laughing  at,  anyhow  ?  Do  you  think  it  is  fun  to  have 
to  do  all  that  work  over  again  ? '  I  told  him  there  was 
no  need  of  doing  anything  of  the  kind ;  that  anybody  that 
knew  the  least  bit  about  navgiation  could  tell  by  looking 
at  that  paper  where  we  were  within  a  few  miles  at  a 
glance.  That  made  him  curious  to  know  what  I  was 
driving  at,  and  he  said,  '  Well,  where  are  we  then  ?  *  I 
answered,  '  Not  very  far  off  the  fishing  banks  on  the  coast 
of  Greenland.'  '  Yes,  that's  so,  but  how  did  you  figure 
that  out  so  quick,  I  have  been  at  it  the  whole  morning,'  he 
said.  '  That's  dead  easy,'  I  replied,  '  I  could  tell  by  all 
the  fish  hooks  you  have  made  on  the  paper.  If  there  had 


238  YANKEE    SWANSON 

been  a  few  more  I  could  have  swore  that  we  were  on  the 
banks  of  Newfoundland.' ' 

I  had  seen  some  of  Ericson's  work  myself,  and  to  tell 
the  truth  his  figures  did  resemble  fish  hooks,  and  I  don't 
think  Captain  Bengston  banked  on  the  positions  that  Eric- 
son  gave  him.  But  leaving  navigation  aside,  Ericson  was 
a  good  seaman  and  well  qualified  to  fill  the  position  he 
held  on  the  Forsette,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  and  it  would 
not  have  been  a  safe  proposition  to  have  criticised  him 
either,  in  his  hearing,  as  he  was  always  ready  to  take  his 
own  part;  but  with  the  cook  it  was  different,  he  was  an 
old  man  and  Ericson  did  not  take  him  seriously. 

The  last  time  Jack  and  I  visited  Sambo  he  presented 
us  with  a  bottle  of  liquor  each,  which  I  had  asked  him  for, 
as  I  wanted  to  treat  the  cook  when  he  had  the  blues,  or 
when  Jack  and  I  felt  like  listening  to  a  good  ridiculous 
story  to  help  pass  away  a  dreary  hour. 

The  bottles  we  kept  stowed  away  in  the  den,  and  the 
cook  was  under  the  impression  that  Jack  was  stealing  the 
etuif  from  the  old  man.  This  little  piece  of  rascality  the 
cook  very  much  approved  of.  Jack  was,  in  his  estimation, 
a  bright  boy,  and  while  the  stuff 'lasted  there  was  no  limit 
to  the  possibilities  of  that  boy,  provided  he  continued  as- 
sociating with  gentlemen  like  himself  and  did  not  fall 
entirely  under  the  influence  of  rascals  like  Swanson  or 
Ericson. 

Herald  took  great  pains  with  Jack  in  teaching  him  our 
language  as  well  as  English,  in  which  he  was  very  de- 
ficient, owing  to  the  fact  that  he  had  had  very  little  school- 
ing, but  as  Jack  was  so  anxious  to  learn,  and  be- 
sides, such  a  smart  pupil,  Herald  never  tired  of  answer- 
ing all  his  questions,  which  were  numerous  enough  to 
drive  an  ordinary  man  to  desperation. 

One  afternoon  it  was  Swanson's  watch  on  deck.  We 
were  hove  to  under  lower  topsails,  wind  blowing  from  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  339 

SW,  a  fresh  gale.  Herald,  Jack  and  I  were  sitting  in  the 
lee  of  the  long-boat,  intently  listening  to  Jack  relating  to 
us  the  story  of  his  life.  We  had  never  heard  it  before  in 
full,  and  probably  would  not  have  heard  it  then  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  fact  that  Herald  absolutely  refused  to 
teach  or  answer  any  more  questions,  unless  Jack  unbur- 
dened himself  of  all  mysteries  that  up  to  the  present  time 
surrounded  him.  Having  promised  to  never  ask  him  to 
relate  it  again,  he  began,  and  this  is  what  he  told  us : 

Jack  Le  Fevre  was  born  on  the  Island  of  Jersey,  in  the 

town  of  H ,  where  his  father  was  a  merchant  in  a 

email  way.  His  father's  business  took  him  over  to  France 
very  often  and  sometimes  also  to  England,  and  on  several 
occasions  he  had  taken  his  wife  and  only  son  along  too. 
Jack  told  of  how  happy  they  then  were  and  of  all  the 
pretty  presents  he  used  to  receive  from  his  father,  and  of 
all  the  pretty  clothes  he  had  to  wear. 

Jack  was  still  a  very  small  boy  when  the  French-Prus- 
sian war  broke  out.  His  father,  although  a  British  sul>- 
ject,  sympathised  with  the  French,  sold  out  his  business 
at  a  loss  and  joined  the  French  army. 

The  mother  heard  from  her  husband  three  or  four  times 
after  he  had  left  home,  the  last  time  from  Sudan,  when 
he  told  her  that  they  expected  to  fight  a  battle  the  follow- 
ing day.  The  battle  was  fought,  and  as  everybody  knows, 
the  French  lost. 

The  mother,  not  receiving  any  further  news  from  her 
husband,  naturally  thought  that  he  was  either  killed  or 
else  so  seriously  wounded  that  he  could  not  communicate 
with  her,  and  decided  to  go  to  France  to  find  out  what 
she  could  about  her  husband. 

To  raise  the  necessary  cash  for  the  journey,  she  sold 
what  little  she  had  left  of  their  belongings  and  put  her 
little  son,  then  about  seven  years  of  age,  in  care  of  a  poor 
relative  of  the  father. 


240  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Madame  Le  Fevre  embarked  in  a  fishing  boat  and 
landed  at  a  place  in  France,  from  where  she  wrote  that 
she  would  start  for  Sudan  the  following  day.  Arriving 
at  that  place,  she  found  the  Germans  in  charge,  and  al- 
though they  treated  her  kindly,  they  could  not  give  her  any 
information  concerning  her  husband. 

Being  thoroughly  disheartened  over  the  failure  of  not 
finding  her  husband  at  Sudan,  she  decided  to  make  her  way 
on  foot  to  Paris.  It  was  the  only  way  she  could  travel 
now,  because  her  money  was  all  gone. 

After  great  trouble  and  starvation  she  arrived  at  Paris, 
only  to  find  the  Germans  surrounding  the  whole  city,  and 
they  refused  to  allow  her  to  enter. 

Thinking  that  she  had  done  everything  that  a  wife  could 
possibly  do  under  such  circumstances  she  decided  it  would 
be  best  to  return  to  her  home,  and  started  on  foot  for  the 
coast.  She  fell  sick  on  the  way  and  was  taken  care  of  by 
a  farmer's  wife,  from  which  place  she  wrote  a  few  lines 
to  the  relative  in  charge  of  the  boy,  relating  her  awful 
predicament,  and  asking  him  as  a  favour  to  send  her  a  few 
shillings  to  enable  her  to  get  back  to  the  Island  of  Jersey. 
The  relative,  being  a  poor  man,  and  worse  still,  a  very 
bad  one,  refused  to  send  her  anything,  and  to  further 
humiliate  her,  he  wrote  and  advised  her  to  stay  where  she 
was;  that  he,  being  poor,  was  sufficiently  hampered  with 
the  boy,  without  being  expected  to  take  care  of  her  also; 
and  furthermore,  if  she  did  come  back  he  would  not  allow 
her  inside  of  his  house,  because  she  did  not  deserve  it, 
having  run  away  after  her  fool  husband,  who  was  an  out- 
and-out  crank  and  deserved  everything  that  he  got,  being 
such  a  fool  to  go  away  to  fight  for  a  country  he  did  not 
belong  to.  This  letter  arrived  at  the  farmhouse,  where 
Jack's  mother  was  slowly  recovering  from  her  fatigue. 
She  opened  the  letter  with  joy,  thinking  that  the  much 
longed  for  paltry  shillings  would  be  there,  which  would 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

enable  her  to  return  to  her  loving  little  son  in  Jersey ;  and 
besides,  she  was  anxious  to  recompense  the  poor1  farmer's 
wife  for  all  the  trouble  she  had  caused  her. 

Poor  Madame  Le  Fevre,  the  blow  was  too  much  for  her. 
She  had  been  able  to  endure  starvation  and  insults  of  the 
grossest  kind  from  the  German  soldiery,  but  what  was  that 
in  comparison  with  what  she  was  receiving  now  from  her 
husband's  relatives.  She  quietly  laid  her  weary  head  on 
the  straw  pillow,  the  letter  fell  from  her  hand,  and  with- 
out a  moan  she  died. 

The  poor  farmer's  wife  being  an  ignorant  woman  and 
not  able  to  read,  took  the  letter  to  the  priest.  The  godly 
man  shed  tears  and  so  did  the  poor  woman  after  the  priest 
had  made  her  acquainted  with  the  contents  of  the  letter. 
The  neighbours,  through  the  priest,  were  made  acquainted 
with  the  circumstances  under  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Le 
Fevre  had  given  up  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  the  father- 
land, and  the  consequences  were  that  Mrs.  Le  Fevre  had 
a  respectable  funeral  and  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  village 
churchyard. 

The  good  priest  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  mayor  of 

H ,  giving  him  a  detailed  account  of  the  suffering  and 

death  of  Madame  Le  Fevre.  He  also  wrote  that  Madame 
Le  Fevre  had  not  been  able  to  find  out  whether  her  hus- 
band was  dead  or  alive,  and  asking  if  he  would  on  his  own 
account  try  to  find  out  something  definite  from  the  general 
in  command  at  Sudan. 

After  some  time  the  mayor  received  a  letter  from  the 
priest  informing  him  that  Le  Fevre  had  not  been  killed 
at  Sudan,  but  that  he  had  on  the  day  before  the  battle 
been  taken  a  prisoner  of  war  while  out  with  some  officers 
reconnoitring.  The  prisoners  were  brought  to  head- 
quarters of  the  German  general,  who  plied  them  with  ques- 
tions regarding  the  condition  of  affairs  at  Sudan,  after 
which  they  were  searched  and  papers  found  on  Le  Fevre 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

whicH  proved  without  a  doubt  that  he  was  a  British  sub- 
ject; in  fact,  Le  Fevre  did  not  deny  it.  This  was  a  most 
serious  offence  and  the  German  general  informed  him  that 
his  case  would  be  classed  as  spying,  and  that  he  would  be 
shot  the  following  day. 

The  general  must  have  changed  his  mind  about  shoot- 
ing him,  however,  because  the  following  day  Le  Fevre  and 
numerous  other  prisoners  were  placed  under  guard  and 
transported  to  a  fortress  in  Germany.  The  good  priest 
advised  the  mayor  to  bestir  himself  a  bit  to  get  the  British 
war  office  to  intercede  in  Le  Fevre's  behalf,  and  also  to 
speak  to  the  man  in  whose  care  Jack  was,  and  have  him 
send  his  relative  in  prison  in  Germany  a  little  money,  of 
which  he  undoubtedly  stood  in  great  need. 

The  mayor  of  H was  a  fat,  lazy  man  and  very 

narrow-minded.  He  could  not  see  that  it  would  do  any 
good  to  trouble  the  British  government  about  anything  as 
small  as  that.  Just  one  man,  and  at  that,  a  fellow  who 
had  no  more  sense  than  to  sell  out  his  business,  leave  his 
wife  and  child  to  be  taken  care  of  by  other  people,  and 
then  like  a  fool  go  away  and  fight  for  a  country  to  which 
he  did  not  belong.  "  No,  indeed,"  thought  the  mayor. 
"  What  a  fool  I  would  make  of  myself  to  get  disliked  by 
the  government  for  anything  like  that,  and  besides  what 
good  could  it  possibly  do  ?  The  Germans  have  a  perfect 
right  to  shoot  him.  A  fool  like  that  ought  to  be  shot. 
Those  are  my  sentiments.  However,  I  will  certainly  go 
and  speak  to  that  man  who  takes  care  of  the  boy  and  have 
him  send  Le  Fevre  a  few  pounds.  He  won't  lose  any- 
thing by  that,  because  he  can  take  it  out  of  the  boy  by 
putting  him  to  work.  I  myself  will  see  to  it  that  the  boy 
gets  something  to  do  if  he  ain't  working  already.  That 
will  be  better  than  to  bother  the  whole  British  Empire." 

The  mayor  put  the  priest's  letter  in  his  inside  pocket 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

and  strolled  down  to  where  this  man  lived,  with  the 
object  of  extorting  a  few  pounds  for  the  benefit  of  the 
prisoner  in  Germany. 

Jack's  caretaker  was  a  man  who  did  not  stand  very  well 
in  the  community.  He  had  the  reputation  of  being  mean 
and  cruel,  and  on  several  occasions  had  been  known  to 
beat  his  wife  and  children.  Ostensibly  he  was  a  fisher- 
man, but  people  said  that  the  fishing  he  did  was  perfectly 
harmless  in  comparison  with  the  smuggling  he  did  be- 
tween France  and  the  Channel  Islands.  Sometimes  after 
having  been  away  on  a  smuggling  expedition  which  lasted 
three  or  four  days,  he  would  bring  back  a  few  fish  which 
he  made  his  wife  and  children  peddle  about  town,  but  that 
was  only  a  blind  and  calculated  to  stop  other  people  from 
prying  into  his  private  affairs. 

On  the  day  the  mayor  called  to  see  him  about  the  little 
money  matter,  the  fisherman  had  just  arrived  from  a  long 
cruise.  The  wife  informed  the  mayor  that  her  husband 
was  very  tired  and  had  gone  to  sleep  in  the  basement,  and 
that  she  would  be  afraid  to  disturb  his  slumbers  until  she 
came  back  from  town,  where  she  and  little  Jack  were  then 
ready  to  go  to  peddle  off  some  fish.  The  mayor  told  the 
woman  that  he  had  come  on  very  important  business,  and 
that  he  would  not  be  put  off  with  such  flimsy  excuses  as 
that,  and  furthermore,  if  she  was  afraid  to  arouse  him,  he 
as  mayor  of  the  town  would  take  it  upon  himself  to  call 
him  out. 

The  woman  seemed  very  much  agitated  about  the  stand 
the  mayor  took  in  this  matter  and  after  considerable  hum- 
ming and  hawing  she  told  Jack  in  a  whisper  to  go  down 
and  see  if  her  husband  had  gone  asleep.  The  fisherman 
had  forgotten  to  lock  the  door  and  was  rudely  disturbed 
by  Jack's  entering,  who  found  his  protector  sitting  down 
to  a  small  table  stacking  up  money.  Being  of  a  fierce 


244  YANKEE    SWANSON 

temper,  he  jumped  up  with  blood  in  his  eye,  and  in  so 
doing  he  upset  the  table  and  gold  and  silver  were  scattered 
in  all  directions.  Crazed  with  anger  at  seeing  his  hoarded 
pile  scattered  in  that  manner,  he  started  to  beat  the  little 
boy  most  unmercifully. 

The  woman,  hearing  the  outcry  of  the  boy,  held  her 
breath  in  holy  horror,  but  was  too  frightened  to  go  down 
to  protect  the  boy.  His  crying  became  weaker  and  weaker 
until  finally  it  ceased  altogether,  and  a  loud  thud  was 
heard  as  if  something  was  thrown  violently  against  the 
wall.  The  woman  fainted  and  the  cowardly  mayor,  who  a 
few  moments  before  had  expressed  his  intention  of  going 
down  in  the  basement,  opened  the  door  and  shouted  in 
French  and  English,  "  Murder,  help,  fire,"  and  everything 
else  he  could  think  of. 

The  brute  in  the  basement,  hearing  the  shouting,  took 
fright  and  locked  the  door.  That  done,  he  began  gather- 
ing up  his  scattered  money,  and  while  in  the  act  of  doing 
this  the  mayor  with  a  dozen  stalwart  hands  —  not  cowards 
like  himself  —  were  loudly  beating  down  the  door,  which 
the  brute  refused  to  open. 

The  door  beaten  down,  the  sight  that  confronted  the 
mayor  was  horrible  indeed.  Jack  was  apparently  dead,  a 
little  heap  in  the  corner,  besmeared  with  blood. 

The  brute,  seeing  the  mayor,  who  had  the  reputation  of 
being  extremely  severe  on  the  criminal  element  in  town, 
facing  him  with  so  many  strong  men  at  his  back  fell  on 
his  knees  begging  for  mercy  and  shivering  like  a  cur  dog 
that  he  was. 

The  mayor  put  on  an  air  of  authority  and  demanded 
first  of  all  to  know  who  all  that  gold  money  belonged  to 
that  he  saw  scattered  over  the  floor.  The  fisherman's  ex- 
cuse for  having  so  much  money  in  his  possession  was  this, 
that  he  was  a  very  poor  man  and  had  always  tried  to  lay 
by  a  little  for  a  rainy  day.  The  mayor  pooh-poohed  that 


YANKEE    SWANSON  245 

and  remarked  that  it  looked  as  though  there  was  money 
enough  to  last  the  brute  if  it  rained  every  day  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life. 

The  woman  had  by  this  time  sauntered  down,  and 
wanted  to  enter  the  basement,  but  the  mayor  held  her  back 
and  told  her  that  she  was  under  arrest.  The  boy  was 
picked  up,  lifeless,  apparently,  and  carried  to  a  hospital, 
where  upon  examination  of  his  injuries,  it  was  found  that 
three  ribs  were  broken,  besides  numerous  bruises  about 
the  face  and  body. 

The  fisherman  and  his  wife  were  carted  off  to  jail. 
Their  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  16  and  14  years  of 
age,  respectively,  who  were  away  in  other  parts  of  the 
island  disposing  of  smuggled  goods  (this  came  to  light 
afterward)  were  apprehended  also  and  run  in,  but  were 
kept  separated  from  each  other  and  also  from  their 
parents. 

The  mayor,  who  also  was  chief  of  police,  had  a  thorough 
search  made  of  the  house,  and  smuggled  goods  amounting 
to  a  great  deal  of  money  were  found  and  seized. 

For  several  months  Jack  hovered  between  life  and  death, 
during  which  time  nothing  was  done  toward  bringing  the 
fisherman  to  trial.  This  delay  was  necessary  because  in 
case  of  death  the  fisherman  would  have  to  face  the  indict- 
ment of  murder.  However,  after  months  of  suspense,  the 
doctors  announced  that  Jack  would  recover,  although  it 
would  be  a  long  time  yet  before  he  could  leave  the  bed. 

The  mayor  now  decided  upon  bringing  the  fisherman 
to  trial  for  having  smuggled  goods  in  his  possession  and 
for  defrauding  the  government. 

The  case  attracted  more  than  usual  attention  throughout 
the  British  islands,  and  the  fisherman  from  some  unknown 
source  had  obtained  two  of  the  very  best  lawyers  in  Lon- 
don to  defend  him.  Evidence  was  produced  that  impli- 
cated a  number  of  people  in  good  standing  in  England  as 


246  YANKEE    SWANSON 

well  as  in  the  Channel  Islands.  The  fisherman  when  put 
on  the  stand  made  a  statement  that  threw  the  mayor  into 
a  fit.  He  claimed  that  the  mayor  was  the  chief  beneficiary 
of  the  illegal  handling  of  smuggled  goods,  and  the  fisher- 
man's wife  and  children  backed  up  the  assertion,  stating 
under  oath  that  they  had  on  numerous  occasions  brought 
him  and  his  wife  smuggled  goods  but  that  they  never 
paid  for  them.  The  fisherman  also  claimed  that  Le 
Fevre,  Jack's  father,  had  always  been  the  chief  mover  in 
the  smuggling  ring,  and  that  the  mayor  had  an  object  in 
view  in  not  taking  steps  toward  bringing  Le  Fevre  back 
from  Germany,  and  instead,  had  forwarded  money  to  Le 
Fevre  and  given  him  instructions  to  make  use  of  it  in 
getting  away  to  the  United  States  after  having  been  set 
free  —  the  French-Prussian  war  having  come  to  an  end. 

This  evidence  was  genuine  and  had  been  obtained  by 
the  fisherman's  lawyers  through  the  British  consuls  in 
Germany,  and  also  from  the  general  in  charge  at  the  fort- 
ress where  Le  Fevre  was  a  prisoner  of  war. 

It  was  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  mayor  was  as 
deep  in  the  mire  as  the  fisherman  was.  He  lost  his  posi- 
tion and  was  arrested  on  charges  brought  against  him  simi- 
lar to  those  he  had  preferred  against  the  fisherman.  Both 
of  them  were  convicted  and  sentenced  to  ten  years'  hard 
labour. 

Le  Fevre,  who  had  been  made  acquainted  with  con- 
ditions at  home,  elected  to  remain  away,  well  knowing 
that  the  indictments  for  defrauding  the  government  would 
be  staring  him  in  the  face  if  he  ever  returned. 

Jack  was  ten  years  of  age  when  he  was  turned  out  of  the 
hospital  as  being  cured.  During  the  time  he  had  been 
there  he  had  received  some  instruction  from  the  sisters 
of  charity.  They  had  taught  him  to  read  and  write  in 
the  French  language.  Of  English  he  knew  nothing,  ex- 
cept that  he  could  speak  in  a  way. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  247 

Practically  speaking,  he  was  now  an  orphan  and  had  to 
shift  for  himself,  and  as  he  was  stunted  of  growth  and  not 
strong,  it  was  a  hard  proposition  to  get  anything  to  do. 
The  authorities  at  the  hospital  gave  him  permission  to  go 
to  the  hospital  for  his  food,  and  a  bed  was  put  aside  for 
him  until  he  obtained  something  to  do.  Having  no  money 
and  no  friends,  he  was  not  in  a  position  to  go  anywhere 
outside  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 

The  fisherman's  wife  and  children  made  themselves 
very  busy  putting  obstacles  in  his  way  by  telling  the  people 
that  Jack  was  a  boy  not  to  be  trusted ;  that  he  had  acted 
the  spy  on  the  poor  fisherman,  as  his  father  had  been 
a  spy  for  the  Germans  while  in  the  French  army,  and  that 
his  father  was  really  the  cause  of  the  French  having  lost 
the  battle  of  Sudan,  by  giving  away  the  whole  situation 
to  the  Germans,  and  that  was  the  reason  why  the  Germans 
had  spared  his  life  and  deported  him  to  the  United  States, 
where  all  scoundrels  went  sooner  or  later. 

This  was  indeed  hard  lines  for  a  boy  ten  years  of  age. 
Whenever  he  made  his  appearance  at  a  house,  asking  for 
something  to  do,  they  would  send  their  children  out  to 
throw  stones  at  him,  calling  him  the  spy  and  other  wicked 
names,  until  finally  it  came  to  such  a  pass  that  the  boy  was 
afraid  to  show  himself  and  took  recourse  to  hiding  during 
the  day,  while  at  night  he  would  sneak  out  like  a  common 
criminal  and  beg  for  something  to  eat  from  sailors  and 
low  characters  that  frequented  the  waterfront. 

One  night  the  boy  ventured  out  from  his  hiding  place 
and  took  himself  off  toward  the  harbour.  He  had  not  gone 
far  when  he  came  face  to  face  with  the  fisherman's  boy. 
Jack,  well  knowing  that  he  was  in  for  a  licking,  started  to 
run,  pursued  by  the  other  boy.  The  fisherman's  son  being 
the  stronger  and  swifter  on  foot  was  rapidly  overtaking 
Jack,  when  a  guardian  angel  in  the  shape  of  a  drunken 
Bailor  came  staggering  along  the  street.  Jack,  nearly 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

exhausted,  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  the  sailor,  the 
while  imploring  help. 

The  sailor,  who  turned  out  to  be  an  Englishman,  was 
not  appealed  to  in  vain.  He  took  Jack  under  his  wing 
and  sent  the  other  boy  about  his  business  by  means  of  a 
swift  kick  that  made  the  boy  howl.  Having  disposed  of 
the  enemy,  the  sailor  commenced  asking  questions,  and 
hearing  that  Jack  was  homeless  as  well  as  friendless,  and 
had  had  nothing  to  eat  for  several  days,  he  decided  to  act 
at  once,  and  in  true  sailor  style  took  the  boy  into  a  public 
house  and  ordered  half-and-half  for  two. 

The  public  house  was  kept  by  a  Frenchman,  who  had  to 
some  extent  been  implicated  with  the  fisherman  in  the 
smuggling  business;  in  fact,  he  had  taken  the  stand  in 
behalf  of  the  latter.  Seeing  the  boy  enter  his  place,  he 
came  out  from  behind  the  bar  and  would  have  done  bodily 
harm  to  the  youngster  if  the  sailor  had  not  interfered  with 
a  well  directed  blow  in  the  jaw  that  sent  the  saloon  keeper 
down  on  his  back.  The  place  was  well  patronised  by  sail- 
ors at  the  time,  some  of  them  more  or  less  drunk.  The 
majority  of  them  were  British. 

The  public  house  keeper  after  a  while  got  on  his  feet 
again  and  demanded  an  explanation  of  this  sudden  attack, 
inasmuch  as  he  had  not  done  anything  to  warrant  any- 
thing of  the  kind.  He  merely  wanted  to  keep  his  place 
clear  of  spies  that  would  get  everybody  in  trouble,  they  as 
well  as  himself.  The  sailors  having  heard  the  public  house 
keeper's  story,  waved  him  aside  and  asked  Jack  what  he 
had  to  say  for  himself.  Jack  told  such  a  straightforward 
story  of  how  everybody  in  the  place  persecuted  him ;  how 
he  could  not  venture  out  during  the  day  to  beg  for  some- 
thing to  eat,  and  of  how  much  he  wished  he  could  get  a 
chance  to  get  away  to  England  in  some  vessel,  where  he 
thought  he  would  be  able  to  get  something  to  do. 

By  the  time  Jack  had  finished  his  story  every  British 


YANKEE    SWANSON  24,9 

jack  tar  in  the  place  was  bent  upon  doing  violence  of  some 
sort  to  prevent  the  cruelties  practised  upon  the  boy,  and 
by  way  of  illustrating  to  the  public  house  keeper  of  what 
would  happen  to  him  if  he  did  not  set  them  up  double 
quick  for  all  hands  and  the  boy,  they  commenced  to  smash 
up  furniture  of  various  kinds  and  now  and  again  let  drive 
something  at  the  shelves  that  made  great  havoc  among  the 
bottles. 

The  poor  man  was  at  his  wits'  ends  what  to  do.  To 
shout  for  help  was  out  of  the  question,  as  he  well  knew  his 
place  of  business  would  be  out  of  commission  long  before 
anything  of  the  sort  could  arrive.  He  therefore  made  the 
best  of  a  bad  business  and  asked  them  to  help  themselves, 
which  they  did  by  instructing  Jack  to  go  behind  the  bar 
and  pass  out  bottles  which  they  might  call  for.  Having 
laid  in  a  liberal  supply,  all  that  they  could  conveniently 
carry  in  their  pockets,  and  having  left  instructions  with 
the  Frenchman  that  if  he  squealed  they  would  call  again 
in  larger  force,  they  took  themselves  off  to  their  various 
coasting  vessels,  singing  as  they  rolled  along,  "  Rule  Brit- 
tania." 

The  guardian  angel  was  the  mate  of  a  coasting  vessel 
that  plied  between  Southampton  and  the  Channel 
Islands.  He  instructed  Jack  to  come  along,  saying  that 
he  would  give  him  a  chance  to  get  to  England.  The  ves- 
sel wTas  at  anchor  in  the  harbour  ready  to  sail  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  mate  hailed  the  vessel  and  a  small  boat  came 
off  and  brought  them  on  board.  The  mate  took  Jack 
down  to  his  room.  He  hunted  up  a  few  dirty  rags  which 
he  threw  down  on  the  floor  and  told  Jack  to  make  himself 
comfortable.  That  done,  he  threw  himself  into  his  bunk, 
boots  and  all,  and  was  soon  sound  asleep. 

Jack,  unable  to  sleep  on  account  of  the  hunger  gnawing 
in  his  stomach,  went  out  on  deck,  where  he  found  a  young 
fellow  standing  anchor  watch.  After  having  answered 


250  YANKEE    SWANSON 

some  questions  from  the  watchman  as  to  how  he  came  to 
be  on  board  the  vessel,  Jack,  just  dying  of  hunger,  asked 
him  if  he  could  give  him  a  piece  of  bread. 

The  young  man  seemed  kindly  disposed  toward  Jack 
and  took  him  into  the  galley,  where  he  supplied  him  with 
a  liberal  amount  of  coffee  and  some  hard-tack. 

When  he  finished  his  meal  he  thanked  the  watchman  and 
went  back  to  the  rags  and  very  soon  fell  asleep.  When  he 
woke  up  the  following  morning  the  vessel  was  out  at  sea 
on  her  way  to  Southampton,  where  they  arrived  in  a 
couple  of  days.  On  their  arrival  the  mate  took  his  pro- 
tege on  shore  and  got  him  installed  as  a  waiter  in  a  sailors' 
boarding-house,  kept  by  a  retired  coasting  captain.  His 
salary  was  to  be  nil  until  the  old  skipper  could  find  out 
how  much  the  boy  would  be  worth.  The  house  had  a  lot 
of  guests  just  about  the  time  Jack  got  there.  Some  of 
them,  being  homeward  bound,  were  liberal  with  their 
money,  and  having  heard  of  Jack's  awful  ordeal  they  sub- 
scribed toward  getting  the  boy  a  few  clothes. 

Next  door  to  the  boarding-house  was  a  cheap  theatre 
patronised  principally  by  sailors  and  servant  girls.  It 
was  a  free  and  easy  place,  and  between  acts  it  was  custom- 
ary for  anybody  that  could  do  a  little  stunt  of  some  sort, 
such  as  step-dancing  or  singing,  to  get  up  and  do  it.  The 
manager  was  pleased  when  anybody  did  so,  because  it  was 
profitable  business,  these  little  side  stunts.  The  home- 
ward-bounders as  a  rule  called  for  a  round  of  drinks  if  the 
actor  did  or  said  something  that  appealed  to  their  taste. 

It  was  at  this  place  that  Jack  got  an  infatuation  for 
dancing  and  he  also  took  up  the  tin  whistle  and  harmonica. 
Sometimes  when  at  work  around  the  boarding-house,  and 
when  he  thought  nobody  saw  him  he  would  practise  a 
little  all  by  himself.  And  after  a  while  when  in  the 
evenings  the  sailors  would  have  a  little  jollification 
amongst  themselves,  Jack  as  a  rule  was  called  upon  to  do 


YANKEE    SWANSON  251 

something,  and  wiien  he  finished  it  was  the  unanimous 
opinion  among  the  sailors  that  the  boy  was  a  wonder  as  a 
step-dancer. 

Once  the  word  had  been  passed  around  that  the  boy  was 
a  step-dancer,  he  could  never  visit  the  theatre  without  being 
called  upon  to  do  a  little  stunt.  The  manager  himself 
would  insist  upon  it,  and  to  his  credit  it  should  be  said 
that  he  very  often  passed  around  the  hat  and  took  up  a  col- 
lection for  the  boy. 

Jack  very  often  met  sailors  from  coasting  vessels  that 
came  from  his  place.  They  would  drop  into  the  board- 
ing-house, which  also  was  a  public  house,  for  a  drink  or  a 
chat,  but  Jack  avoided  them  as  much  as  he  could,  always 
afraid  that  they  would  say  something  about  his  being  a 
spy  or  something  disagreeable  about  his  father. 

The  old  sea  captain  who  ran  the  boarding-house  was  a 
kind  old  fellow,  and  treated  the  boy  fairly  well,  although 
during  the  two  years  the  boy  worked  at  his  place  he  never 
offered  him  any  set  wages,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
the  boy  had  to  do  a  lot  of  work,  early  and  late.  His  work 
was  principally  that  of  a  chamber-maid  during  the  day, 
and  in  the  evenings  when  the  barroom  was  well  crowded 
with  sailors  he  had  to  assist  the  old  sea  dog  with  serving 
out  drinks. 

If  the  homeward-bounders  —  the  old  man  was  always 
very  partial  toward  them  —  wanted  a  little  music,  Jack 
had  to  furnish  the  same  on  the  tin  whistle  or  harmonica, 
and  the  same  with  the  dancing ;  Jack  was  the  boy  who  had 
to  do  a  fancy  step-dance.  It  was  all  business  with  the  old 
man ;  the  sailors  would  set  up  the  drinks. 

As  a  rule  a  sailor  when  he  has  money  is  very  free  with 
it;  in  fact,  it  seems  as  if  he  was  anxious  to  get  clear  of  it 
in  the  shortest  possible  way,  and  as  the  easiest  of  all  ways 
to  do  that  is  to  patronise  the  boarding-house  keeper,  that's 
where  he  will  stay  until  it  is  all  gone,  and  think  himself 


252  YANKEE    SWANSON 

very  well  treated  indeed  provided  the  boarding-house  mas- 
ter don't  give  him  knockout  drops  and  rob  him  outright  of 
everything  he  has  the  first  day  he  is  in  the  house,  which  is 
done  very  often.  Jack's  employer  was  what  the  sailors 
would  call  a  good  man.  He  did  not  rob  them,  but  their 
money  was  his  just  the  same.  He  had  a  way  about  him 
that  made  the  sailors  think  that  it  was  out  of  pure  charity 
that  he  kept  a  boarding-house  at  all,  and  that  he  was  ever- 
lastingly losing  what  little  money  he  had  managed  to  save 
up  for  a  rainy  day. 

At  times  when  Jack  had  finished  entertaining  the  crowd 
with  a  dance,  or  a  tune  on  the  whistle,  somebody  would  of 
course  set  them  up  for  all  hands.  The  old  man  would 
hold  up  both  his  hands  in  holy  horror  and  beg  them  not  to 
do  such  a  thing ;  that  if  they  insisted  upon  doing  that  every 
time  he  asked  the  boy  to  entertain  them  a  bit  he  felt  as  if  it 
would  be  his  duty  to  stop  it  altogether.  He  would  much 
rather  see  them  give  the  little  lad  a  shilling  or  two,  because 
he  was  an  orphan  and  a  good  boy,  and  as  he  was  losing 
money  every  day  he  was  not  in  a  fix  to  give  the  boy  any- 
thing outside  of  a  good  home,  plenty  to  eat,  and  very  little 
work.  Therefore,  if  anybody  in  the  crowd  felt  that  they 
had  anything  to  spare  he  would  much  rather  they  gave  it 
to  the  boy  than  to  spend  it  on  liquor,  although  a  little  drop 
of  it  among  friends  could  never  do  any  harm. 

This  little  talk  from  the  old  man  went  a  long  way  to- 
ward helping  out  the  boy  to  get  money  to  buy  clothes ;  in 
other  words,  that  is  how  he  paid  the  boy's  wages. 

Some  evenings  if  the  sailors  limbered  up  good,  Jack 
would  get  as  much  as  ten  shillings.  That  was  considered 
extra  good,  and  the  old  man's  wife,  who  had  Jack's  welfare 
at  heart  almost  as  much  as  the  old  man  himself,  would  call 
on  the  boy  after  he  had  gone  to  bed  and  relieve  him  of 
half  of  it.  She  told  Jack  that  it  almost  broke  her  heart 


YANKEE    SWANSON  253 

to  do  it,  but  she  couldn't  help  it.  Her  husband  had  told 
her  that  too  much  money  at  one  time  would  spoil  him  alto- 
gether, and  that  the  old  man  had  made  up  his  mind  to  help 
him  all  he  could. 

In  this  manner,  one  year  after  another  dragged  along. 
It  was  an  existence  for  Jack  and  no  more.  He  was  anx- 
ious to  learn,  but  what  could  he  learn  in  the  midst  of  such 
surroundings  ? 

However,  a  change  came  for  the  better.  The  old  sea 
dog  died  and  the  old  woman  sold  out  the  place  and  retired 
from  active  life  to  live  in  luxury  for  the  remainder  of  her 
days. 

The  boarding-house  out  of  existence  proved  to  be  a 
death  blow  to  the  little  theatre  next  door,  and  the  manager 
shut  up  the  place  to  look  for  a  better  location  in  some 
other  town. 

Jack  was  now  left  to  shift  for  himself.  He  was  not 
much  better  off  than  he  was  when  he  landed  at  South- 
ampton several  years  before,  except  that  he  had  some 
experience  and  he  was  older.  He  packed  his  little  grip 
and  struck  out  for  the  interior.  He  stopped  at  the  country 
places  and  made  a  few  pennies  now  and  again  by  enter- 
taining the  country  folks  with  a  little  music  and  a  step- 
dance.  He  always  managed  to  get  something  to  eat, 
because  he  made  himself  useful  in  different  ways ;  and  be- 
sides, his  happy  disposition  and  good  nature  and  the  fact 
that  he  never  complained  made  him  a  general  favourite 
among  the  country  people. 

On  his  tramp  through  England  he  got  along  fine.  It 
was  a  picnic  all  through,  something  he  had  never  had 
before,  but  the  picnic  was  at  an  end  the  very  day  he  crossed 
the  Scottish  boundary.  The  country  people  were  not  so 
liberal  there,  and  poor  Jack  decided  to  try  the  big  towns 
once  more. 


254s  YANKEE    SWANSON 

The  first  town  of  any  size  he  struck  was  Grangemouth, 
and  I  was  the  first  person  on  Scottish  soil  that  gave  him 
the  glad  hand. 

Eight  bells  struck.  Jack  had  finished  his  story  and  we 
went  to  our  bunks. 

It  was  on  a  Sunday  morning,  and  we  were  five  weeks  out 
from  Archangel,  and  during  that  time  we  had  seen  the 
sun  or  stars  on  very  rare  occasions,  and  for  the  last  ten 
or  twelve  days  not  at  all.  Consequently  the  ship's  posi- 
tion was,  you  might  say,  mere  guess  work,  because  the  ves- 
sel being  hove-to  a  great  deal  of  that  time  —  sometimes 
under  bare  poles  entirely,  except  a  tarpaulin  unrolled  in 
the  mizzen  rigging  —  it  was,  as  any  experienced  navigator 
knows,  next  to  impossible  to  determine  the  ship's  position 
under  those  conditions,  within  any  degree  of  certainty. 

After  having  rounded  North  Cape,  Captain  Bengston 
intended  to  shape  his  courses,  weather  and  conditions  per- 
mitting, to  bring  his  command  between  the  Faroe  and 
Shetland  Islands ;  then  when  far  enough  to  the  westward, 
to  steer  about  south  and  to  pass  through  the  north  channel 
which  separates  Ireland  and  Scotland. 

Bengston  and  Swanson  had  many  an  argument  over 
that  same  question.  Swanson  thought  it  would  be  best, 
considering  the  time  of  the  year,  to  take  the  Forsette 
through  the  North  Sea  and  then  through  the  English  Chan- 
nel, as  we  could  expect  better  weather,  although  the  dis- 
tance would  be  much  longer. 

Bengston  was  not  opposed  to  Swanson's  scheme  and 
probably  would  have  taken  that  route  if  we  had  not  en- 
countered so  much  southerly  and  SW  wind.  His  only 
argument  against  it  was  that  the  English  Channel  is  one 
of  the  most  dangerous  sheets  of  water  in  the  world  to  navi- 
gate, owing  to  the  great  amount  of  shipping  there,  and 
also  the  currents  that  run  very  swift  and  irregular. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  255 

However,  Bengston  stuck  to  his  original  intentions,  and 
on  this  Sunday  morning  he  pricked  her  off  on  the  chart  as 
being  somewhere  between  those  two  groups  of  islands  I 
have  just  mentioned.  The  wind  was  then  and  had  been 
for  several  days  prior,  SW.  It  had  been  blowing  quite 
fresh  during  the  night,  and  we  were  going  along  close 
hauled  on  the  port  tack,  heading  about  WNW  under  reefed 
topsails,  reefed  foresail,  spanker  and  forestaysail.  The 
old  craft  made  fine  weather  of  it,  but  she  barely  steered, 
owing  to  a  tremendous  high  NW  swell. 

It  was  my  trick  at  the  wheel  from  eight  to  ten  that  fore- 
noon watch.  It  was  Swanson's  watch,  but  Bengston  was 
on  deck  himself,  being  anxious  about  the  weather,  and 
worse  still,  not  being  sure  of  his  position. 

Bengston  remarked  to  Swanson  that  he  wished  to  good- 
ness it  would  clear  up  a  bit  so  he  could  find  out  where  we 
were. 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Swanson,  but  it  doesn't  look  much 
like  clearing,  although  I  think  we  will  have  a  change  of 
wind  soon." 

At  about  nine  o'clock  it  fell  dead  calm  and  started  a 
drizzling  rain;  in  fact,  it  became  quite  thick.  Bengston 
said  that  if  there  were  any  vessels  around  we  ought  to 
blow  our  fog  horn.  Swanson  reached  into  the  companion- 
way  and  took  out  the  horn,  and  handing  it  to  Herald,  he 
told  him  to  go  forward  and  blow  a  blast  every  minute. 

The  very  first  blast  Herald  blew,  Bengston  fairly 
jumped  out  of  his  seaboots.  He  turned  white  and  looked 
at  Swanson  inquiringly.  "  Echo,  I  guess,  don't  you  ? 
That's  what  it  sounded  like.  But  where  in  the  world  can 
it  come  from  ?  "  Herald  blew  another  blast,  and  there  it 
was  again,  very  plain  indeed.  Said  Swanson,  "  We  can't 
be  more  than  a  mile  off,  if  we  are  that,  by  the  sound  of 
it" 

"  Come  down  below,  Swanson,"  said  Bengston.     "  We 


256  YANKEE    SWANSON 

•will  take  a  look  at  the  chart.  It  is  just  possible  we  have 
been  set  to  the  south'erd." 

They  did  not  remain  long  below,  and  when  they  came 
on  deck  they  went  off  by  themselves  and  spoke  in  whis- 
pers almost.  Herald  kept  blowing  the  horn,  and  to  judge 
by  the  echo,  it  did  not  sound  any  plainer. 

Bengston  remarked,  "  If  we  don't  get  some  wind  soon 
we  are  in  a  bad  fix,  because  this  1STW  swell  will  soon  put 
us  ashore."  Then  to  Swanson,  "  Get  the  lead  line  out 
and  see  if  we  are  in  soundings.  If  we  are  where  we 
guess,  there  will  be  hundreds  of  fathoms  of  water  and 
anchoring  will  be  out  of  the  question." 

Swanson  sang  out  to  the  watch  to  come  aft  and  sent 
Jack  to  rouse  the  watch  below.  The  lead  was  cast  and 
200  fathoms  of  line  with  it,  but  no  bottom.  "  Just  what 
I  thought,  Swanson,  we  are  in  for  it  if  we  don't  get 
wind." 

Swanson  said  nothing,  but  I  thought  that  he  looked 
worried.  About  ten  o'clock  there  was  a  break  in  the  sky 
to  the  north' erd  and  the  wind  sprang  up  from  that  direc- 
tion, light  at  first,  but  gradually  increasing  to  a  gale. 
The  wind  ceased,  the  dirty  sky  skimmed  off  like  magic, 
and  there  we  were,  islands  and  headlands  all  around  us, 
and  rocks  innumerable,  it  seemed.  The  one  which  re- 
bounded the  echo  was  about  half  a  mile  away.  Alto- 
gether it  was  a  most  forbidding  sight. 

Bengston  and  his  two  mates  held  a  hurried  consultation, 
and  orders  began  to  fly  thick  and  fast.  The  cook  came 
out  of  the  galley  and  took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance.  He 
was  a  sailor  all  right,  and  could  see  we  were  in  a  pretty 
bad  box,  and  felt  that  his  help  would  be  called  into 
requisite.  He  therefore  slammed  the  door  to  with  a  bang 
and  said  something  about  what  we  could  expect  when  we 
were  fools  enough  to  sail  with  a  boat-hook  navigator. 

We  shook  out  the  reefs  from  the  topsails  and  the  foresail 


YANKEE    SWANSON  257 

and  set  them,  and  stood  off  on  the  port  tack,  the  outside 
headland  being  fully  two  points  on  our  port  bow  —  not  a 
very  bright  prospect. 

The  bay,  or  inlet,  we  were  in  was,  I  should  think,  about 
five  miles  wide,  and  we  were,  when  we  discovered  our 
dilemma,  about  three  miles  inside  of  the  headlands.  The 
course  out  was  north,  and  the  wind,  now  blowing  a  living 
gale,  blew  from  that  direction.  Besides,  there  was  the 
high  £TW  swell  I  have  mentioned  before. 

Could  any  vessel  be  placed  in  a  worse  position?  I 
think  not;  and,  bear  in  mind,  it  was  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  hardly  daylight.  At  half  past  two  it  would 
be  dark. 

The  Forseite  was  now  under  as  much  sail  as  she  could 
with  any  safety  carry,  and  she  was  going  along  at  an 
eight-knot  gait.  In  a  little  while  we  were  over  on  the 
east  shore.  Everything  was  ready  for  about  ship,  all 
hands  at  their  respective  stations.  Bengston  took  the 
wheel  himself,  ran  her  off  a  point  or  so  to  get  her  good 
and  full,  being  afraid  that  she  would  miss  stays.  She 
came  up  in  the  wind  very  well  indeed,  and  we  swung  the 
mainyards,  but  that  was  as  far  as  she  would  go,  owing 
to  the  heavy  swell  on  the  port  bow.  This  was  an  awful 
calamity.  We  had  to  swing  the  mainyards  again  and 
wear  her  to  get  her  on  the  starboard  tack,  the  rocks  being 
too  close  on  board  to  make  another  attempt  at  going  about. 
We  lost  fully  a  mile  on  this  operation,  and  we  could  ill 
afford  it 

After  we  got  her  around  on  the  starboard  tack,  Bengston 
said  to  Swanson,  "  That  was  a  bad  one.  We  will  have  to 
do  better  than  that  or  we  might  as  well  give  it  up  at 
once.  Get  more  sail  on  her,  set  the  jib  and  mainstay- 
sail,"  which  accordingly  was  done. 

With  these  additional  sails  we  made  better  time,  and 
in  about  half  an  hour  we  were  over  on  the  west  shore 


258  YANKEE    SWANSON 

and  about  ship.  Bengston  still  at  the  wheel,  ran  well  in 
under  the  rocks,  where  the  swell  did  not  affect  us  so 
much,  and  she  came  around  in  fine  style  without  losing 
any  headway  to  speak  of. 

"  That's  better,"  shouted  Bengston,  in  high  glee.  "  If 
we  can  do  as  well  over  on  the  other  shore,  I  think  we  will 
do  it  after  all  before  it  gets  dark." 

"  I  think  so,  too,"  said  Swanson.  "  But  if  I  were  you 
I  would  make  short  tacks.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  cur- 
rent is  setting  us  in  over  on  the  other  shore,  and  besides 
the  swell  is  much  heavier  there." 

"  All  right,  Swanson,  I  will  try.  Oh,  if  only  the  wind 
would  haul  a  point  or  so,  and  if  we  could  only  carry  the 
gallantsails,  I  think  we  would  clear  that  west  headland  by 
making  three  or  four  more  tacks." 

"  I  don't  think  it  would  be  advisable  to  set  the  gallant- 
sails  yet,  captain,"  said  Swanson.  "  We  run  the  risk  of 
getting  dismasted.  Better  wait  for  the  final  show-down 
when  we  are  well  up  to  the  Cape  and  think  that  we  can 
clear*  it.  I  see  it  is  going  to  be  squally,  too ;  snow,  I  sup- 
pose." 

We  went  about  again  when  half  way  across  the  inlet, 
without  any  hitch  to  it,  and  we  felt  greatly  relieved.  We 
now  had  the  Cape  only  about  half  a  point  on  the  weather 
bow. 

Swanson  sent  Herald  and  me  up  on  the  fore  and  main 
top  gallantyards  to  start  the  gaskets  so  it  would  not  take 
much  time  to  get  them  adrift  when  wanted,  the  top  gal- 
lantsails having  been  furled  for  weeks.  While  up  doing 
that,  a  heavy  snow  squall  struck  us  and  she  careened  over 
to  a  dangerous  angle,  we  thought.  However,  no  order 
was  given  to  start  anything,  Bengston  being  anxious  to 
make  every  inch  he  could. 

We  had  no  time  to  eat  our  dinner;  in  fact,  there  was 
nothing  to  eat,  the  cook's  station  being  to  handle  the  main 


YANKEE    SWANSON  259 

bowline  and  main  staysail  sheet  when  going  about,  and 
the  best  he  could  do  for  us  was  to  keep  the  coffee  hot,  of 
which  we  consumed  great  quantities.  The  old  cook  was 
the  most  cheerful  member  of  the  whole  crew,  I  think, 
although  he  realised  the  awful  position  we  were  in,  as 
much  as  anybody  else.  Once,  after  having  come  about 
under  the  west  headland,  and  seeing  that  we  had  not 
gained  an  inch,  he  remarked  to  Ericson,  who  had  proposed 
to  Swanson  that  we  construct  a  raft  for  emergency,  in 
case  we  did  not  clear  the  headland  by  nightfall,  "  You 
talk  about  making  a  raft;  a  fine  scheme,  indeed.  If  we 
don't  do  any  better  on  the  next  tack  I  will  propose  we 
fill  our  pockets  with  good  Grangemouth  coal,  and  if  that 
don't  suit  I  will  break  up  the  old  grindstone  and  give  each 
man  a  little  souvenir  to  take  along  to  Fiddler's 
Green." 

Ericson  did  not  relish  that  sort  of  joking  just  then,  and 
retorted,  "  That's  all  very  fine  for  you.  I  suppose  you 
would  take  the  harpoon  yourself  and  hook  on  to  one  of 
your  many  friends  about  here."  The  cook  said  he  would 
not  do  that,  for  he  was  never  known  to  desert  a  shipmate, 
and  besides  he  was  very  fond  of  company  and  did  not 
care  about  riding  alone.  "  Last  time  I  took  a  trip  of 
that  sort  I  had  Napoleon  along;  it  was  better  than  noth- 
ing." 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  tacked  right  under 
the  headland,  and  it  looked  as  though  we  could  have 
cleared  it  if  we  had  kept  going.  Bengston,  poor  fellow, 
was  still  at  the  wheel,  having  been  there  constantly  since 
we  discovered  our  dilemma.  He  had  not  had  anything 
to  eat  during  all  that  time.  He  was  in  his  shirt  sleeves, 
and  I  could  notice  the  steam  escaping  through  his  clothes, 
notwithstanding  the  cold,  which  was  fierce,  especially  so 
during  the  snow  squalls.  He  chewed  a  great  deal  of 
tobacco,  and  his  face  was  besmeared  with  the  juice,  which 


260  YANKEE    SWANSON 

made  him  look  so  fierce  that  it  gave  me  a  shiver  to  look 
at  him.  It  was  evident  that  he  was  going  through  an 
ordeal  that  only  falls  to  the  lot  of  a  sailor  or  a  soldier,  and 
on  very  rare  occasions  at  that. 

Swanson  passed  the  word  for  all  hands  to  come  aft. 
Seeing  us  all  on  the  poop,  Bengston  beckoned  Swanson 
to  take  the  wheel.  Having  done  so,  Bengston  tried  to 
talk,  but  finding  that  we  could  not  hear  what  he  had 
to  say,  owing  to  the  fierce  blasts  of  the  wind,  he  sat  down 
on  deck  and  we  all  followed  suit. 

Bengston  was  not  an  orator ;  he  said  but  very  few  words, 
but  what  he  did  say  was  something  that  very  few,  I  think, 
could  say  better  and  more  to  the  point,  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. 

He  began  by  telling  us  that  he  was  a  surprised  man  to 
find  that  the  vessel  was  in  this  position.  It  was  not  slack 
navigation.  He  had  done  his  best  to  keep  run  of  her,  and 
so  had  Swanson  and  Ericson.  But  the  fact  remained  she 
was  there,  as  we  all  could  see. 

"  Well,"  he  proceeded,  "  the  next  thing  is  to  get  her 
out  of  here.  I  myself  have  made  use  of  my  knowledge 
and  experience  as  a  sailor  the  best  I  know  how ;  but  as  yet 
I  am  sorry  to  say  I  have  not  accomplished  much,  and  to 
tell  the  plain  truth  —  I  don't  like  to  hide  anything  —  we 
are  no  better  off  than  when  we  started  this  morning.  In 
half  an  hour's  time  it  will  be  dark  and  we  will  be  no  bet- 
ter off  than  a  blind  man  on  the  streets  of  London  with  no 
one  to  guide  him.  We  have  one  more  card  to  play,  and  I 
have  instructed  Swanson  to  carry  it  out.  If  that  fails  we 
are  gone ;  nothing  can  save  us.  The  old  long-boat  of  ours 
could  not  live  in  the  sea  we  are  having,  and  as  for  making 
a  raft,  you  are  liberty  to  make  one,  but  I  for  one  wouldn't 
make  use  of  it.  It  would  only  be  prolonging  the  misery, 
and  I  have  no  fancy  for  that." 

"  That's  what  I  say,  too,"  chipped  in  the  cook.     "  I 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

much  prefer  a  grindstone ;  it  is  handier,  and  less  work  for 
one  thing." 

"  Now,  as  for  what  I  propose  to  do  —  our  last  card," 
continued  the  captain.  "  I  intend  to  make  a  long  leg  on 
this  tack  we  are  on  now.  Bear  in  mind  it  will  be  our 
last  one  if  we  don't  clear  the  headland,  and  that  is  the 
point,  to  clear  the  headland.  If  we  can  do  that,  our  trou- 
bles are  over,  because  it  is  fine,  clear  water  on  the  other 
side  of  it,  and  we  can  square  away  to  our  hearts'  content. 

"  Just  now  when  we  went  about  it  looked  as  if  by  hav- 
ing kept  going,  we  would  have  cleared  it  by  perhaps  a  few 
yards.  In  fact  I  know  we  would;  but  that's  not  what  I 
was  most  afraid  of;  it's  the  backwash  from  that  headland 
that  I'm  afraid  of  when  we  pass  it  so  close. 

"  Boys,"  went  on  Bengston,  "  I  have  spent  my  life 
among  the  rocks  and  breakers  on  this  very  coast,  and  be- 
lieve me  I  know  something  about  it,  and  I  am  not  one 
that  likes  squealing,  but  in  this  case  I  consider  it  is  my 
duty  to  speak  and  to  let  you  know  how  I  stand  and  feel 
about  it." 

Bengston  had  finished.  He  got  up  and  relieved  the 
wheel.  Swanson  told  Jack  to  go  forward  and  try  to  fetch 
him  a  hot  cup  of  coffee.  The  sailors  all  went  to  their 
respective  stations.  I  was  left  there  alone  with  Bengston, 
who  was  now  occupied  with  the  steering. 

I  sat  for  a  moment  longer  thinking,  I  don't  know  about 
what.  I  wanted  to  get  up  and  found  I  was  wabbly  in 
the  legs.  I  looked  about  in  consternation,  afraid  some- 
body would  notice  me.  I  was  ashamed  of  myself  and 
tried  to  find  some  excuse  for  my  funny  feeling  in  the  legs, 
but  could  not  discover  any.  Youth,  nearly  fourteen  years 
old,  how  about  that  ?  No,  that  was  not  it. 

Jack  ran  forward  like  Napoleon.  He  did  not  seem  to 
have  that  wabbly  feeling.  There  he  was  now,  coming 
back  with  the  coffee  for  Swanson.  He  was  of  my  own 


262  YANKEE    SWANSON 

age.  I  was  aroused  from  these  horrible  thoughts  by 
Bengston,  who,  I  observed,  gave  me  a  look.  "  Come  here, 
boy,"  he  said.  "  Go  down  in  my  cabin  and  get  me  a 
fresh  piece  of  tobacco."  I  got  on  my  legs  as  if  in  a  blue 
maze,  but  the  wind  caught  me  and  sent  me  on  all  fours, 
down  the  companionway.  I  bruised  my  arm  in  the  fall, 
but  I  felt  no  pain ;  evidently  I  was  too  far  gone  for  that, 
and  forgot  what  I  had  come  down  for. 

I  instinctively  walked  into  Jack's  den.  It  was  mine 
as  much  as  his,  almost,  although  I  did  not  sleep  there,  but 
my  books  and  letters  from  home  were  there.  I  com- 
menced to  grope  about  me  as  if  looking  for  something, 
although  I  had  no  idea  what  I  was  looking  for.  I  was 
dazed,  to  say  the  least.  After  a  few  seconds  of  more 
thinking,  I  found  that  I  had  my  mother's  letters  in  my 
hand.  I  kissed  them  and  fell  on  my  knees  at  my  friend's 
bunk,  and  offered  up  a  little  prayer  that  mother  had  taught 
me.  After  that  I  felt  much  better,  and  I  remembered 
what  Bengston  had  sent  me  down  to  get.  I  got  up,  and 
in  so  doing  I  came  face  to  face  with  grandpa's  picture  on 
the  wall.  I  almost  fainted  away  when  I  saw  it,  and  a 
thought  struck  me  that  he  was  aware  of  my  feeling  that 
had  now  luckily  passed.  There  he  was,  looking  me  square 
in  the  eye,  as  if  he  knew  my  innermost  thoughts.  One 
thought  after  the  other  flashed  through  my  mind,  and 
every  tale  he  had  related  to  me  appeared  as  if  I  had  been 
there  myself.  Berezina  River,  Leipzig,  the  campaign  of 
1814,  and  Waterloo ;  I  fancied  I  saw  him  march  up  to  the 
immovable  British  squares  as  cool  as  if  on  dress  parade. 
And  here  was  I,  his  favourite  boy,  with  wabbly  legs  and 
sinking  heart,  afraid  to  be  seen,  although  I  was  surrounded 
by  a  crew  of  Vikings  as  free  from  fear,  apparently,  as  any 
that  ever  sailed  salt  water. 

I  heard  Swanson's  terrible  voice,  "  Ready  about,"  and 
grabbed  a  plug  of  tobacco  off  the  captain's  table,  ran  up 


YANKEE    SWANSON  263 

the  steps  as  lively  as  ever,  handed  it  to  the  old  man,  and 
took  my  station  at  the  spanker  sheet. 

"  Hard-a-lee,"  shouted  the  old  man,  and  up  she  came 
in  the  wind  as  if  the  old  ship  knew  what  was  wanted  of 
her.  She  came  around  without  losing  her  headway. 
Bengston  chuckled  to  himself,  and  took  another  chew  of 
tobacco.  "  That  beats  your  Flying  Scud  and  Davy 
Crockets  to  a  standstill,"  shouted  Bengston,  as  Swanson 
came  aft. 

I  felt  like  myself  again.  My  fear  was  apparently 
gone,  and  I  laughed  to  myself  when  I  thought  of  the  cook's 
grindstone  proposition. 

It  was  now  dark,  but  we  could  still  see  the  headland. 
Bengston  remarked  that  the  wind  had  hauled  a  little,  and 
pointing  toward  the  Cape,  he  said,  "  We  are  now  pointing 
fully  one  point  and  a  half  higher  than  the  Cape,  allowing 
a  point  and  a  quarter  for  leeway,  we  should  clear  it  by  at 
least  one-eighth  of  a  mile. 

"  Now  look  here,  Swanson,"  he  continued,  "  for  fear 
that  she  won't  do  that  —  I  mean  she  might  make  more 
leeway  than  I'm  allowing  —  I  want  you  to  have  the  top 
gallantsails  ready  to  be  set  at  a  moment's  notice.  It  is 
desperate,  I  know,  but  it  might  be  the  saving  of  all  of  us, 
and  besides,  if  we've  got  to  go  on  the  rocks,  it  will  do 
nobody  any  harm  to  sail  the  tophamper  off  her  first." 
"  It  is  a  wise  move,  I  think,  to  do  just  as  you  say,  and  I 
will  have  it  ready  for  you,  depend  on  that,"  said  Swanson. 

Swanson  came  up  to  Jack  and  me.  Both  of  us  were 
hanging  on  to  the  weather  rail.  He  squatted  down  under 
the  rail,  and  pulled  us  after  him  to  get  a  little  lee  so 
we  could  hear  what  he  was  saying.  He  spoke  to  us  as  a 
father  would  do  to  his  sons,  and  the  substance  of  what  he 
said  was  this: 

"  I  want  you  two  boys  to  go  up  on  the  gallantyards, 
one  on  each  top,  and  take  the  yardarm  gaskets  off,  or  cut 


264,  YANKEE    SWANSON 

them  off,  which  ever  you  find  the  handier.  Then  get  the 
bunt-gasket  in  such  shape  that  you  can  let  it  go  without 
any  hitch  when  I  give  one  blast  on  the  foghorn.  That 
done,  come  down  as  quick  as  the  God  Almighty  will  let 
you.  Understand  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  understand,"  we  both  answered. 

"  All  right,  then  get ;  but  remember,  don't  let  go  until 
you  hear  the  blast;  your  lives  depend  on  it." 

It  was  hard  work  to  get  up  on  the  gallantyard  in  that 
breeze.  I  fairly  got  pasted  to  the  ratlines  and  could 
hardly  extricate  myself.  Jack  got  there,  too.  I  could 
not  see  him,  but  I  heard  the  canvas  flapping,  so  I  knew  he 
was  there. 

A  snow  squall  struck  us  just  as  we  heard  the  blast  of 
the  horn.  I  had  my  knife  on  the  gasket  and  cut  it. 
Jack  did  the  same,  and  down  we  went  on  the  backstay. 

When  we  got  down  the  sails  were  already  sheeted 
home  and  they  were  mastheading  them.  It  was  done  as 
if  by  magic.  Every  one  knew  that  their  lives  depended 
on  their  quick  action. 

I  have  never  seen  such  sailing  since  that,  to  me,  mem- 
orable day;  nor  do  I  wish  to  ever  see  anything  like  it 
again  as  regards  sailing,  and  I  have  my  doubts  if  anybody 
outside  of  the  crew  of  the  Forsette  ever  saw  such  sailing, 
except  for  unfortunates  like  ourselves  who  had  happened 
to  be  placed  in  similar  circumstances. 

Swanson,  who  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
vessels  noted  for  fast  sailing,  told  us  that  day  that  he 
never  thought  any  vessel,  however  strong,  could  have  stood 
up  to  such  carrying  on,  close  hauled  on  the  wind,  without 
getting  dismasted.  He  also  threw  his  arms  about  his 
brother-in-law's  neck  and  swore  that  Bengston  was  the 
greatest  sailing  master  he  had  ever  sailed  with,  barring 
none. 

The  gallantsails  being  set,  there  was  nothing  further 


YANKEE    SWANSON  265 

to  do,  except  to  pick  out  the  safest  and  most  protected 
place  to  find  a  little  shelter  from  being  swept  overboard 
by  the  heavy  seas  she  was  continually  taking  on.  Our 
high  deckload  was  a  great  help  to  us,  or  to  the  vessel 
rather,  because  the  water  had  no  place  to  lodge  and  ran 
off  at  once. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  deckload  was  no  protection  from 
the  wind,  and  the  snow  was  falling  so  thickly  that  it  was 
impossible  to  see  anything  at  all.  Swanson  gave  orders 
for  all  hands  to  come  aft  on  the  poop,  where  we  could  be 
of  mutual  protection  to  one  another.  Accordingly  we  all 
squatted  down  on  the  weather  side  and  stretched  a  couple 
of  life  lines,  to  which  we  clung,  silently  awaiting  our 
fate. 

Swanson  took  his  stand  on  the  lee  side  of  the  wheel  to 
assist  Bengston  in  case  he  needed  it.  They  also  had  life 
lines  on. 

After  a  while  we  heard  Bengston  remark  that  we  would 
soon  be  clear  or  else  done  for.  He  said  he  could  feel  the 
action  of  the  backwash.  He  had  no  sooner  said  it  than 
a  tremendous  wall  of  water  came  from  the  lee  side  and 
overwhelmed  the  vessel.  She  became  entirely  submerged, 
for  how  long  I  cannot  tell;  it  seemed  an  eternity.  I 
finally  got  my  breath  and  found  myself  in  the  pump  well 
—  a  square  place  amidships,  formed  by  the  deckload  being 
stowed  on  each  side  of  the  wheels.  I  heard  a  tremendous 
noise,  caused  by  the  flapping  of  canvas,  which  proved  to 
be  the  spanker  blowing  away.  I  was  in  a  quandary  as  to 
what  to  do,  and  made  an  attempt  to  get  up  from  the  prison 
I  was  in.  I  had  not  reached  the  deckload,  however, 
before  there  was  a  shock  and  another  deluge  that 
sent  me  down  to  where  I  had  been,  and  then  I  knew  no 
more. 

When  I  came  to  I  was  lying  on  my  back  with  my  head 
resting  on  a  piece  of  wood,  and  the  dog  licking  my  face. 


266  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Poor  dog,  lie  was  as  badly  off  as  I.  He  had  a  nasty  gash 
on  his  shoulder,  and  was  hopping  about  on  three  legs. 

It  took  me  some  little  time  to  realise  what  had  hap- 
pened. Where  I  lay  I  could  see  the  stars,  and  the  sky 
seemed  beautifully  clear.  The  old  Forsette  seemed  to  be 
sliding  along  quite  easily.  I  tried  to  get  up,  ISTap  wagging 
his  tail  as  if  that  was  what  he  wanted  me  to  do.  I  tried 
to  make  use  of  some  steps  in  the  deckload,  purposely 
stowed  to  make  egress  easy,  but  found  I  could  not  move 
my  legs.  I  commenced  shouting  and  Nap  joined  me  by 
giving  a  few  sharp  mournful  barks.  No  one  came  to  as- 
sist us,  and  I  thought  all  hands  must  be  dead.  It  did  not 
seem  possible  that  they  could  not  hear  me,  the  way  I 
shouted.  I  rested  my  head  again  on  the  piece  of  wood, 
and  poor  Nap  cuddled  down  by  me,  with  his  head  on  my 
arm,  looking  at  me  with  such  sad,  pleading  eyes. 

I  must  have  had  a  refreshing  sleep,  because  when  I 
opened  my  eyes  it  was  daylight,  and  I  felt  much  better. 
The  deck  I  was  resting  on  was  dry  and  my  body  was 
warm,  caused,  no  doubt,  by  Nap  cuddling  up  to  me  with 
his  Laplandish  pelt. 

I  renewed  the  shouting,  and  Nap  took  up  the  barking 
anew.  After  a  while  something  almost  human,  it  seemed 
to  me,  appeared  above  us.  It  turned  out  to  be  our  cook 
disguised  past  recognition. 

"  Who  is  that  ?  Come  down  and  help  me  up ;  I  can't 
walk,"  I  said. 

"Who  is  that?"  repeated  the  cook.  "Well,  if  that 
don't  take  the  cake."  Then  to  himself.  "Who  do  you 
think  it  could  be  but  your  friend  and  saviour,  the  only  one 
out  of  the  whole  bunch,  outside  of  Yankee  Swanson,  that 
hasn't  got  broken  bones  or  gone  to  the  Fiddler's  Green. 
Ah,  boy,  I  tell  you  I  knew  what  I  was  talking  about  when 
I  proposed  grindstones.  Brimstone,  and  plenty  of  it, 
would  have  been  preferable  to  the  mess  we  are  in  now. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  267 

As  for  getting  anything  to  eat,  the  Lord  help  us.  The 
galley  is  kindling-wood  and  the  stores  soaked  with  salt 
water.  But  stay  where  you  are,  boy,  I  will  go  and  re- 
port to  Swanson  that  another  craft  that  we  had  put  down 
for  Fiddler's  Green  has  turned  up." 

After  a  few  minutes  Swanson  came.  The  cook  then 
bent  a  rope  around  my  body  and  hoisted  me  up.  Nap 
started  to  howl  and  bark;  he  also  wanted  to  be  taken  up, 
but  the  cook  said  that  he  was  all  right  where  he  was.  He 
had  nothing  for  him  to  eat,  and  besides,  he  intended  to 
despatch  him  after  he  had  things  straightened  up  and 
convert  him  into  beefsteaks  and  soup. 

Swanson  turned  on  the  cook  and  said,  "  Never  mind  so 
much  talk  now;  you  take  the  dog  out  of  there,"  and  ac- 
cordingly Nap  was  given  a  lift. 

They  carried  me  aft  and  sat  me  down  on  the  poop.  I 
started  to  look  about  a  bit,  and  the  devastation  I  saw  was 
past  belief.  The  deckload  forward,  what  was  left  of  it, 
was  standing  on  end.  The  fo'cs'le  head  and  the  forward 
housegalley  were  completely  demolished.  The  fore  hatch 
was  stove  in  and  tons  of  water  had  gone  below,  but  the 
after  house  was  saved  to  some  extent.  Evidently  the  two 
backwash  seas  that  did  all  this  damage  had  struck  us 
heavier  forward  than  aft.  Aloft,  things  did  not  look 
miich  better.  The  two  top  gallant  masts  were  gone,  and 
everything  belonging  to  them.  Likewise  the  jib-boom 
and  the  spanker  boom,  and  of  course  the  sails,  as  well. 
The  two  upper  and  lower  topsails  were  the  only  sails  that 
were  saved  out  of  the  whole  suit. 

The  deckload  going  adrift  was  the  cause  of  losing  the 
two  courses,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  tacks  and  sheets 
were  belayed  to  cleats  lashed  on  to  the  deckload. 

August,  the  fellow  who  took  the  part  of  a  lunatic  in 
Norway,  John,  the  sailor  we  shipped  at  Grangemouth,  and 
one  old  sailor  from  our  place  (Hb'ganas),  who  had  sailed 


268  YANKEE    SWANSON 

with  Bengston  a  long  time,  were  lost,  or,  as  the  cook  called 
it,  "  gone  to  the  Fiddler's  Green,"  wherever  that  is. 
Every  one  else  was  more  or  less  injured.  Captain 
Bengston  had  his  two  ankles  badly  sprained  and  was  un- 
able to  walk,  and  he  also  had  an  ugly  gash  across  his 
forehead.  Ericson,  who  was  at  the  wheel  when  Swanson 
sat  me  down  on  the  poop,  was  injured  inwardly  and  was 
spitting  blood.  Herald,  our  handy  man,  and  the  two 
remaining  seamen  were  also  hurt  more  or  less,  but  they 
were  able  to  assist  Swanson  and  the  cook  to  some  extent 
toward  getting  things  into  some  sort  of  shipshape. 

Swanson  and  the  cook  were  the  only  two  members  of 
the  crew  who  were  uninjured  outside  of  bruises  and 
scratches  and  swellings,  of  which  the  cook  had  any  amount. 

Nap  was  really  the  cause  of  saving  Jack  and  one  of  the 
seamen.  They  had  been  washed  forward  and  jammed  up 
in  the  deckload,  where,  no  doubt,  they  would  have  been 
killed  but  for  the  barking  of  the  dog,  which  brought  Swan- 
son  and  the  cook  to  their  rescue. 

Poor  little  Jack,  he  was  lying  down  on  the  cabin  floor, 
and  when  he  saw  me  being  carried  down  he  smiled  in  his 
sweet  way  and  burst  out  crying  like  a  little  child.  Nap 
was  lying  close  by  him,  licking  his  bruised  paw,  and  old 
man  Bengston  was  sitting  in  his  easy  chair,  his  ankles 
swelled  up  to  enormous  proportions.  The  tobacco  juice 
of  yesterday  was  still  on  his  face,  and  he  had  the  appear- 
ance of  a  man  ninety  years  of  age.  "  Well,  Andrew,"  he 
said,  "  don't  you  wish  you  were  home  with  grandpa,  turn- 
ing the  grindstone ;  or  do  you  think  a  sailor's  life  is  what 
it  is  cracked  up  to  be  ? " 

Swanson  laid  me  down  on  the  table  and  took  off  my 
clothes.  That  done,  he  began  to  feel  me  all  over  for 
broken  bones,  but  he  found  none.  The  stiffness  of  my 
limbs  was  due  to  the  long  exposure  in  icy  salt  water.  I 
had  been  in  the  pump  well  something  like  eighteen  hours. 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

"  You  will  be  as  fit  as  a  fiddle  in  a  couple  of  days," 
said  the  cook.  Then  to  Swanson,  "  We  will  rub  him 
down  a  bit  and  throw  a  stiff  jolt  into  him  out  of  the  small 
glass.  Then  he  will  go  to  sleep  and  wake  up  as  well  as 
ever.  And  Jack,  too ;  nothing  at  all  the  matter  with  him ; 
just  a  few  bruises  like  I  have  myself.  A  little  stiffening 
on  the  inside  will  do  the  job.  Remember  when  Ericson 
broke  his  back,  and  the  way  I  fixed  him  up,  all  with  a 
little  stuff  I  borrowed  from  that  measly  lord  that  never 
said  as  much  as  '  thank  you '  for  knowing  his  grand- 
mother." 

Swanson  had  to  laugh  at  the  cook's  continuous  tirade, 
and  turned  on  his  heel  and  went  on  deck  while  the  cook 
did  as  he  said  he  would  —  threw  a  jolt  into  me. 

Jack's  den  was  converted  into  a  galley.  Herald, 
bruised  and  badly  off  as  he  was,  went  to  work  and  cut  a 
hole  in  the  cabin  deck.  Then  he  fitted  a  stovepipe  and 
also  constructed  a  provisional  range.  It  was  primitive, 
of  course,  but  it  answered  the  purpose,  and  provided  us 
with  hot  coffee,  of  which  we  stood  so  much  in  need. 

The  cook,  as  usual,  had  exaggerated  greatly  in  regard 
to  the  stores.  Upon  investigation,  Swanson  found  that 
we  were  not  so  badly  off  in  that  respect.  One  watertank 
bolted  on  to  the  deck  and  lumber  stowed  on  each  side  of 
it  was  intact,  so  we  were  not  in  immediate  want  of  fresh 
water,  and  besides,  everything  aloft  was  covered  with 
snow,  which  could  have  been  made  use  of  in  an  emergency. 

Swanson  and  the  cook  worked  like  beavers.  It  is  mar- 
vellous what  a  lot  of  work  two  able  bodied  men  can  do 
when  put  to  a  real  test.  Swanson's  opinion  of  the  cook, 
which  up  to  the  time  of  the  disaster  had  been  at  low  ebb, 
now  took  a  turn  for  the  better.  And  no  wonder;  every- 
thing depended  on  them  to  pull  us  through.  After  the 
two  big  seas  had  submerged  the  vessel  there  was  not  a 
man  left  on  the  poop  where  we  had  all  been  assembled. 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

except  the  captain,  mate,  and  cook,  and  they  of  course 
thought  that  we  all  had  gone  to  Fiddler's  Green. 

Bengston  and  Swanson  both  claimed  that  they  saw  the 
headland  through  the  snow  squall  between  the  first  and 
second  sea,  and  knew  positively  that  we  were  clear  of  it 
after  the  second  sea  had  boarded  us,  and  knew  that 
spars  and  rigging  could  not  last  much  longer,  especially 
so  in  this  particular  case,  where  the  top  gallantsails  and 
the  outer  jib  had  been  set  with  the  sole  object  in  view  of 
driving  the  vessel  to  windward  of  the  headland.  And 
now  being  clear  of  the  headland,  it  was  of  as  much  impor- 
tance to  get  the  sails  off  her  again  and  to  get  her  before 
the  wind  as,  prior  to  passing  the  headland,  it  had  been 
to  get  the  sails  on  her  as  regards  the  saving  of  the 
vessel. 

Having  recovered  their  breath,  the  three  men  managed 
to  get  the  helm  hard  up,  but  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
vessel  was  so  evenly  balanced  with  fore  and  aft  sails  (this 
with  the  great  object  in  view  of  not  retarding  her  speed 
by  carrying  the  rudder  at  a  large  angle)  she  would  not 
pay  off.  Bengston  let  go  the  spanker  sheet.  Boom,  gaff, 
and  sail  went  over  the  side,  and  she  started  to  pay  off 
slowly.  But,  on  account  of  the  jib  sheets  coming  adrift, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  gallant  fo'cs'le  was  stove  in,  she 
began  to  come  up  to  the  wind  again,  and  seeing  this, 
Swanson  crawled  on  hands  and  knees  and  cut  away  main 
tack  and  sheet,  which  had  the  desired  effect  of  getting  her 
off  before  the  wind. 

The  strange  part  of  it  was  this,  that  while  on  the  wind 
in  that  gale  we  did  not  part,  as  the  sailor  says,  a  rope- 
yarn.  The  top  gallant  masts  did  not  go  by  the  board 
until  she  was  off  before  the  wind. 

The  old  man  did  not  know  he  had  sprained  ankles  un- 
til she  was  before  the  wind.  He  had  been  worked  up  to 
such  a  pitch  that  pain  did  not  bother  him.  But  now  that 


YANKEE    SWANSON  271 

he  felt  that  he  had  done  all  that  a  human  could  do  toward 
saving  life  and  property,  he  squatted  down  on  deck  for  a 
brief  moment,  and  when  he  tried  to  get  up  he  found  that 
he  was  unable  to  do  so.  However,  Bengston  would  not 
give  up  while  there  was  anything  he  thought  he  could  do. 
He  seated  himself  by  the  wheel  and  managed  to  steer 
her  while  Swanson  and  the  cook,  who  were  the  only  ones 
in  sight,  squared  the  yards. 

Having  got  her  off  before  the  wind,  Swanson  and  the 
cook  cut  away  the  wreckage.  The  top  gallant  masts  were 
still  towing  alongside.  That  done,  they  lowered  the  two 
upper  topsails  and  stowed  them  in  a  fashion  so  they 
would  not  blow  away. 

When  they  came  down  from  aloft  Bengston  told  them 
that  he  thought  he  had  heard  the  dog  barking  forward, 
and  asked  them  to  investigate,  whereupon  they  went  for- 
ward, and  among  the  deckload,  which  was  helter-skelter 
forward  of  the  mainmast,  they  found  Ericson,  Herald, 
Jack,  and  the  dog.  After  considerable  hard  work  they 
managed  to  get  the  men  aft  in  the  cabin  and  revived  them 
the  best  way  they  knew  how. 

ISTap  was  missing  again  just  after  having  been  rescued, 
and  Swanson  thought  he  had  gone  overboard,  but  instead 
of  that  he  evidently  must  have  scented  where  I  was  lo- 
cated and  fallen  down  in  the  pump  well,  which  was 
almost  covered  over  with  planks  scattered  about  in  all  di- 
rections. 

It  was  midnight  before  Swanson  and  the  cook  had 
things  in  such  shape  that  they  could  assist  Bengston  below 
to  his  chair.  They  made  him  as  comfortable  as  the  cir- 
cumstances permitted.  Swanson  took  the  wheel  and  the 
cook  commenced  hunting  for  something  to  eat. 

The  vessel  was  now  running  before  a  northerly  gale 
under  the  two  lower  topsails,  and  we  were  out  of  all  dan- 
ger for  the  time  being,  at  least,  because  we  had  any  amount 


272  YANKEE    SWANSON 

of   sea   room,   it  being  the   Faroe   Islands  we  had  just 
cleared  by  such  a  narrow  margin. 

The  cook,  having  found  some  hard-tack  and  a  piece  of 
salt  pork,  lined  up  alongside  of  Swanson  at  the  wheel, 
and  there  the  two  of  them  remained  throughout  the  night, 
steering  and  eating  by  turns.  Swanson  told  us  afterward 
that  the  cook  throughout  that  night  never  let  up  lying  for 
one  single  moment ;  he  told  one  ridiculous,  blood-curdling 
tale  after  another,  and  Swanson  said  that  he  had  never 
enjoyed  it  as  much  as  he  did  that  night. 

When  daylight  came  on,  the  cook  went  down  in  the 
cabin  to  take  a  look  at  the  sick  ones.  Bengston  asked  the 
cook  how  things  looked.  "  Fine,  fine,"  answered  the  cook. 
"  She  is  sliding  along  like  an  old  shoe  under  the  lower 
topsails,  and  everything  is  shipshape,  except  that  three 
men  and  the  boy  and  the  dog  are  at  Fiddler's  Green." 

"  The  dog,"  exclaimed  Bengston  in  surprise.  "  But 
he  was  here  last  night." 

"  So  he  was,"  said  the  cook.  "  But  after  he  discovered 
that  Frenchy  was  past  fixing  up,  and  the  other  fellow  had 
gone  to  Fiddler's  Green,  I  guess  he  thought  there  waa 
nothing  left  for  him  to  do  but  to  go  back  to  Lapland, 
and  he  was  a  wise  ISTap,  and  no  mistake.  I  was  figuring 
on  making  a  little  stew  and  barley  broth  out  of  him  for 
the  sick  folks,  as  soon  as  I  could  find  a  place  to  make  a 
fire;  but  he  must  have  smelt  a  nigger  in  the  wood-pile 
and  stole  a  march  on  me." 

Old  man  Bengston  and  Herald  could  not  keep  from 
laughing,  but  Jack,  hearing  that  !Nap  and  I  were  among 
the  missing,  broke  out  weeping.  "  Don't  cry,"  inter- 
rupted the  cook,  "  for  the  dog,  anyhow.  What  could  you 
expect  from  a  dog  that  has  a  name  like  that.  I  knew  the 
minute  you  insisted  upon  naming  him  Napoleon  he  would 
do  something  desperate  some  day.  He  took  after  his 
namesake  a  great  deal,  and  no  mistake." 


YANKEE    SWANSON  273 

Ericson  said  lie  felt  well  enough  to  go  up  to  relieve 
Swanson,  and  asked  the  cook  to  assist  him.  "  I  think 
so,  too,"  said  the  cook.  "  You  are  not  nearly  as  bad  as 
you  were  in  Norway,  the  time  you  broke  your  back.  If 
I  had  a  little  of  that  stuff  I  borrowed  from  that  lord  I 
would  fix  you  up  in  a  couple  of  days,  but  I  guess  there 
ain't  anything  of  that  sort  on  board,  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  either,  the  way  you  and  the  rest  of  them 
went  at  it  in  Archangel.  It  w^as  a  shame,  and  I  said  so 
at  the  time.  Might  have  left  a  little  for  a  rainy  day  like 
this.  I  have  never  seen  any  one  make  a  meal  of  things 
like  you  did  of  that  gin,  six  cases,  and  no  mistake." 

Ericson  looked  daggers  at  the  cook,  but  he  felt  too  ill 
to  answer  back,  and  started  to  get  out  on  deck,  the  cook 
assisting  him.  Swanson,  poor  fellow,  was  glad  to  be  re- 
lieved, and  he  told  the  cook  that  the  dog  was  barking 
somewhere.  Swanson  sent  the  cook  to  take  a  look  and 
see  where  the  dog  could  be,  and  that  was  the  time 
that  Nap  and  I  were  discovered  buried  in  the  pump 
well. 

Herald,  assisting  the  cook,  brought  a  lot  of  stores  into 
the  cabin,  and  after  considerable  trouble  with  the  tem- 
porary stove,  which  nearly  finished  us  up  for  good,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  smoke  would  not  pass  out,  the  wind 
being  so  strong,  he  had  the  pea  soup  going,  and  that 
evening  we  all  had  a  fairly  good  meal. 

We  also  got  our  clothes  dried,  and  taking  it  all  in  all 
we  considered  ourselves  well  off  under  the  circumstances. 
Swanson  and  the  cook  worked  very  hard,  and  before  dark 
they  had  the  greater  part  of  the  deckload  that  was  adrift, 
jettisoned. 

After  supper  Swanson  came  below  to  hold  a  consulta- 
tion with  the  captain  in  regard  to  what  would  be  best  to 
do  for  the  safety  of  the  vessel  and  what  remained  of  the 
crew.  There  could  be  no  secret  about  this,  because  we 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

were  all  down  in  the  cabin,  except  Ericson  who  was  at 
the  wheel.  Swanson  explained  to  the  old  man  just  how 
things  were,  and  informed  him  that  we  had  three  feet  of 
water  in  the  hold,  and  that  it  made  the  vessel  very  slug- 
gish, and  he  had  an  idea  that  if  we  hauled  her  up  to  the 
wind  she  would  list  over  to  a  dangerous  angle.  Bengston 
told  him  that  he  could  feel  where  he  was  sitting  that  she 
had  a  lot  of  water  in  her,  but  that  there  was  no  immediate 
danger  from  that  source,  inasmuch  as  we  had  all  sorts  of 
sea  room  and  could  keep  before  it,  no  matter  from  what 
direction  the  wind  should  happen  to  come.  Swanson  told 
him  that  with  the  small  amount  of  canvas  we  carried  the 
vessel  was  not  making  over  four  knots  per  hour,  and  if 
the  wind  increased  he  thought  that  he  and  the  cook  would 
be  able  to  take  one  of  the  topsails  off  her.  "  The  vessel 
is  as  tight  as  a  bottle,"  said  Swanson.  "  The  water  we 
have  in  her  all  came  through  the  fore  hatch,  which  is 
bursted,  and  I  was  thinking  if  we  could  keep  her  going 
as  she  does  now,  we  are  all  right.  We  will  all  be  on  our 
legs  again  in  a  few  days,  and  then  we  will  get  the  water 
out  of  her,  and  after  that  I  think  we  will  be  able  to 
straighten  up  things  a  bit  and  get  another  suit  of  sails 
bent.  That  done,  there  is  no  reason,  that  I  can  see,  why 
we  shouldn't  be  able  to  bring  her  to  our  destination,  al- 
though we  are  shorthanded." 

"  You  are  talking  like  a  man,"  said  Bengston.  "  I 
would  rather  die  than  abandon  the  old  ship  after  all  this 
trouble.  The  ship  is  insured  to  her  full  value  at  Lloyds, 
and  if  we  bring  her  in  —  it  will  be  a  feather  in  our  hats. 
They  will  re-rig  her  and  build  new  houses  on  her ;  put 
her  in  first  class  order  again,  and  they  will  come  off  cheap, 
at  that.  Besides,  I  am  sure  they  will  recompense  the 
crew  and  officers  for  the  loss  of  their  clothes.  I  have 
dealt  with  the  Lloyds  before  and  know  what  I'm  talking 
about." 


YANKEE    SWANSON  275 

Bengston  turned  to  the  cook  and  Herald  and  asked 
them  if  they  understood  what  he  expected  of  them.  The 
cook  answered  that  he  never  for  a  moment  thought  that 
anybody  would  have  an  idea  of  giving  up  a  vessel  as 
seaworthy  as  the  Forsettej  that  he  and  another  man  — 
the  fellow  was  no  use  at  all  —  had  once  sailed  a  dismasted 
vessel  from  Cape  Horn  to  Montevideo,  and  the  owners 
never  as  much  as  asked  them  to  take  a  drink.  But  then, 
the  vessel  was  not  insured. 

"  I  do  hope  the  Lloyds  will  do  something  in  the  clothes 
line,"  he  continued.  "  I  ain't  got  a  thing  except  what 
I  got  on  now,  and  you  can  see  for  yourself  it  is  nothing 
but  old  canvas  I  have  tied  about  me.  If  any  of  my  old 
friends  in  Newport  see  me  in  this  rig  they  will  swear  that 
it  is  Robinson  Crusoe  or  the  Czar  of  Russia  you  have 
brought  as  a  passenger  from  Archangel." 

Herald  said  that  he  thought  he  would  be  all  right  to 
do  some  work  very  soon.  He  was  satisfied  that  it  was 
only  bruises  and  a  certain  amount  of  stiffness  that  both- 
ered him.  "  Of  course  it  is,"  chipped  in  the  cook.  "  If 
we  could  get  a  little  hot  stuff  for  the  inside  we  would 
limber  up  at  once.  But  I  wouldn't  advise  letting  Ericson 
have  charge  of  the  bottle.  He  is  too  radical  and  no  mis- 
take, when  it  comes  to  handling  a  bottle,  believe  me." 

The  wind  continued  to  blow  from  the  north  and  the 
NW.  At  times  it  moderated  some,  but  for  the  greater 
part  of  a  week  it  was  a  fresh  gale.  During  that  week  we 
were  going  along  under  the  two  topsails.  The  steering 
and  other  necessary  work  required  was  done  by  Swanson, 
Ericson,  and  the  cook.  Herald  did  the  little  cooking  that 
could  be  done  on  our  makeshift  stove.  Jack  and  I  were 
improving  fast.  But  the  old  man's  feet  seemed  to  get 
worse  and  he  suffered  terrible  pains.  We  had  no  medi- 
cine on  board  that  seemed  to  help  him  any,  but  he  found 
some  relief  when  he  kept  his  feet  in  hot  water. 


276  YANKEE    SWANSON 

It  was  the  following  Sunday  morning  after  our  mishap 
that  we  all  mustered  on  deck.  It  was  a  fine,  clear  morn- 
ing, but  very  cold.  We  carried  the  old  man  up  on  deck 
in  his  chair,  and  rigged  him  up  in  such  a  position  that 
he  could  steer  the  ship. 

We  then  manned  the  pump  and  continued  pumping  the 
whole  day.  At  nightfall  when  we  were  ready  to  drop 
from  exhaustion,  she  commenced  to  suck.  It  was  a  wel- 
come sign,  and  we  threw  ourselves  down  on  deck  for  a 
good  rest.  Having  rested  a  few  minutes,  Swanson  told 
us  to  try  her  once  more  and  that  would  be  the  last.  So 
we  went  at  it  once  more,  but  she  started  sucking  almost 
at  once,  which  meant  that  she  was  dry,  "  almost  as  dry 
as  we  are,"  said  the  cook.  And  we  all  started  laughing, 
Swanson  included. 

We  all  went  aft,  feeling  tired,  but  happy.  Bengston 
told  the  cook  to  dig  out  the  bottle  and  the  big  glass. 
Everybody  had  a  drink  and  those  that  wanted  more  had 
two,  after  which  we  threw  ourselves  down  on  the  deck  for 
a  rest.  Bengston  said  that  he  was  feeling  better  than 
he  had  felt  any  time  since  the  disaster,  and  when  Swanson 
offered  to  relieve  him  at  the  wheel  he  would  not  hear  of 
it  until  we  had  had  our  supper. 

Jack  had  been  exempt  from  the  pumping  and  was  in- 
stalled as  cook.  He  was  weaker  than  any  of  us,  but  as 
cheerful  as  ever;  no  fault  to  find  with  anything,  and  con- 
sidering what  he  had  to  cook  he  simply  did  wonders.  We 
all  sat  down  and  filled  up  on  salt  meat  and  black  coffee. 
The  bread  we  could  not  stomach,  as  it  was  saturated  with 
salt  water. 

After  supper  Swanson  arranged  that  it  would  be  two 
hours  apiece  at  the  wheel  during  the  night,  with  orders 
to  call  him  if  it  should  be  necessary.  Everybody  else 
except  the  helmsman  would  sleep  in. 

Swanson  tied  a  piece  of  rope  to  his  feet  when  he  laid 


YANKEE    SWANSON  277 

down,  and  told  us  to  pull  away  on  it  if  we  wanted  him 
for  anything. 

It  was  my  turn  at  the  wheel  from  midnight  until  two 
o'clock,  and  it  was  a  most  beautiful  night  and  perfectly 
cloudless.  I  was  steering  right  before  the  wind,  making 
about  a  south  course.  Jack,  whose  turn  it  would  be  next, 
came  out  long  before  I  intended  to  run  down  to  call  him. 
He  said  he  had  been  very  restless  and  could  not  sleep. 
He  stood  alongside  of  me,  and  after  a  while  he  asked  me 
if  I  had  been  at  all  scared  during  the  storm.  I  enquired 
why  he  asked,  and  he  held  back  for  a  moment,  as  if  he 
did  not  care  to  tell  me.  Finally  he  said  he  was  curious 
to  know  because  he  had  been  very  much  frightened  him- 
self and  was  afraid  that  he  was  a  little  coward.  After 
I  had  told  him  of  how  I  felt  that  afternoon  he  felt  much 
better  and  said  that  he  thought  that  he  could  now  get 
some  sleep,  and  after  having  thrown  his  arms  about  me 
and  telling  me  that  I  was  his  best  friend,  he  skipped  down 
and  was  soon  sound  asleep. 

As  I  did  not  feel  very  sleepy  myself,  having  had  a 
good  sleep  the  first  part  of  the  night,  I  did  not  call  my 
friend  until  his  watch  was  more  than  half  over.  When 
he  came  up  to  relieve  me  his  faithful  friend  Nap  came 
along  also.  Nap  had  fully  recovered  from  the  tough 
knocking  about  he  had  received,  but  he  had  lost  a  lot  of 
flesh,  more  than  any  of  us,  owing  to  the  fact  that  his  chief 
diet,  bread,  we  had  none  of,  it  all  having  been  ruined  by 
salt  water. 

Jack  patted  the  dog  on  the  head,  and  said,  "  Poor  Nap, 
Swanson  has  told  me  that  we  will  make  land  to-morrow 
and  if  we  meet  any  vessels  we  will  board  them  and  buy 
some  bread  for  you."  Nap  wagged  his  tail  and  pricked 
up  his  ears  as  if  it  was  good  news  and  threw  himself  down 
at  the  feet  of  the  boy.  I  left  them  and  went  down  and 
turned  into  Jack's  bunk. 


278  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Jack  called  Swanson  at  five  o'clock  and  when  he  came 
on  deck  he  brought  his  sextant  along  and  took  some  obser- 
vations of  the  north  star.  He  left  the  boy  at  the  wheel 
while  he  worked  them  out,  and  when  he  had  finished  he 
took  the  wheel  and  told  Jack  to  run  up  on  the  topsailyard 
and  take  a  good  look  all  around  for  a  light. 

Jack  ran  up  and  after  a  few  minutes  he  reported  a 
light  right  ahead.  Swanson  shouted  to  him  to  come  down, 
and  turning  the  wheel  over  to  the  boy,  Swanson  went 
down  to  consult  the  captain. 

The  light  we  made  was  the  Butt  of  Lewis,  on  the 
Hebrides  Island.  Swanson  roused  out  all  hands,  and  we 
braced  up  on  the  port  braces  and  brought  the  wind  in  a 
couple  points  on  the  starboard  quarter.  Jack  and  I  were 
sent  up  to  cast  loose  the  upper  topsails.  We  also  set 
another  jib  and  the  main  staysail. 

We  missed  our  three  sailors  we  had  lost  a  great  deal, 
but  never  as  much  as  now,  when  it  came  to  mastheading 
the  topsails.  We  had  to  clap  the  handy  Billy  on  to  the 
halyards  several  times  before  we  got  them  up. 

By  daylight,  or  about  nine  o'clock,  we  had  everything 
set  that  was  bent,  and  we  were  going  along  at  a  fairly 
good  gait,  with  land  five  or  six  miles  off  on  the  port  side. 

Swanson  and  the  cook  had  done  wonders  since  our 
mishap.  They  had  practically,  without  any  assistance, 
bent  a  number  of  sails  and  put  the  headgear  in  such  shape 
that  we  could  make  use  of  the  forestaysail  and  a  jib.  The 
courses  were  not  as  yet  bent,  but  now  having  made  the 
land  and  knowing  to  a  certainty  where  we  were,  it  was 
necessary  to  get  them  bent.  Accordingly  after  we  had 
had  some  coffee,  we  got  out  the  course  from  under  the 
half-deck  and  sent  them  aloft,  and  by  noon  they  were 
bent  and  furled.  Bengston  did  not  wish  Swanson  to 
set  them  yet,  being  afraid  that  we  would  not  be  able  to 
take  them  in  if  it  should  come  on  to  blow  during  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  279 

night.  "  We  have  a  good  way  to  go  yet  before  we  get 
to  the  north  channel,"  explained  Bengston,  "  and  I  don't 
like  to  enter  narrow  waters  until  I'm  able  to  walk  and 
the  boys  are  a  little  stronger.  If  it  comes  to  worse  we 
can  go  outside  of  Ireland;  plenty  of  sea  room  there,  and 
we  are  in  no  hurry.  The  main  thing  is  to  get  the  ship 
safely  to  Newport.  We  will  sight  plenty  of  vessels  in 
a  day  or  two,  and  we  can  easily  put  the  dingy  over  and 
kedge  a  few  stores." 

In  the  evening  the  weather  put  on  a  threatening  ap- 
pearance. We  took  in  the  lighter  sails  and  snugged  her 
down  for  the  night.  As  it  was  necessary  now  to  keep 
lookout  on  account  of  the  shipping  we  expected  to  meet, 
Swanson  set  regular  sea  watches  again.  Swanson,  Jack, 
and  I  made  up  the  port  watch ;  Ericson,  cook,  and  Herald, 
starboard  watch. 

During  our  watch  that  night  we  met  three  sailing 
vessels  and  one  small  steamer.  Swanson  said  he  wished 
it  had  been  daylight;  he  would  have  signalled  one  or  the 
other  of  them  and  we  would  have  borrowed  some  stores. 

The  next  day  we  met  a  little  English  brig.  We  ran  up 
a  distress  signal  and  backed  our  mainyards.  The  brig 
hove  to,  and  our  little  dingy,  which  had  remained  in  the 
davits  practically  undamaged,  was  lowered,  and  Swanson, 
cook,  and  Jack  rowed  over  to  the  Englishman.  They 
remained  there  a  long  time,  at  least  Bengston  thought 
they  did,  and  he  was  nervous  about  it.  When  they  did 
return  they  brought  bread  and  other  good  things,  for 
which  the  Englishman  refused  to  take  any  money. 

The  cause  of  their  staying  so  long,  and  perhaps  also 
the  cause  for  the  unexpected  liberality  of  the  English 
captain  was  this:  Our  cook  and  the  captain  of  the  brig 
had  been  shipmates  some  years  ago  on  a  coasting  vessel. 
The  Englishman  had  then  been  mate,  and  from  what 
Swanson  told  Bengston,  there  must  have  been  considerable 


280  YANKEE    SWANSON 

rivalry  between  the  two  on  board  the  same  vessel,  as  evi- 
dently the  captain  of  the  brig  was  as  great  a  talker  as  our 
cook,  and  was  well  up  in  telling  funny  stories  too.  Jack 
told  me  that  our  cook  and  the  captain  embraced  one  an- 
other as  if  they  had  been  looking  for  each  other  for  years 
and  then  suddenly,  after  having  given  up  all  hopes  of 
ever  seeing  one  another  again,  they  met.  However  that 
might  be,  their  acquaintanceship  was  certainly  a  godsend 
to  us,  inasmuch  as  our  cook  was  not  bashful  in  asking  for 
things,  and  he  even  got  some  medicine  for  the  old  man's 
feet,  and  last,  but  not  least,  he  received  a  bottle  of  Scotch 
whiskey. 

When  everything  they  had  received  was  stowed  away 
in  the  boat  Swanson  and  the  skipper  shook  hands,  the 
skipper  wishing  him  a  pleasant  voyage.  As  they  pulled 
away,  the  skipper  shouted,  "  Good-bye,  cook,  and  God 
bless  you.  I  shall  always  remember  you  as  the  most 
cheerful  liar  in  the  whole  British  Empire."  The  cook 
stopped  rowing,  took  off  an  old  piece  of  canvas  that  an- 
swered for  headgear,  bowed  his  old  head  very  low,  and 
answered,  "  Don't  be  over  generous  with  your  compli- 
ments, captain,  I  shall  always  take  off  my  hat  to  you  as 
the  recognised  champion  liar  on  the  coast." 

Having  hoisted  the  boat  we  all  got  busy  getting  some- 
thing to  eat.  The  Englishman  had  given  us  a  bucket  full 
of  potatoes,  and  the  cook  made  up  a  good  lobscouse.  Be- 
fore we  started  to  eat,  the  cook  treated  to  whiskey,  but  it 
was  noticed  that  he  hunted  up  the  small  glass.  Ericson 
objected  to  that,  and  said  that  it  was  no  use  unless  a  man 
got  enough  so  that  he  could  at  least  feel  it.  The  cook 
took  offence  at  that,  and  asked  him  to  bear  in  mind  that 
it  was  whiskey  he  was  treating  to  and  not  sandpaper  gin, 
which  had  the  faculty  of  scratching  the  whole  way  down. 
Anyhow,  we  got  our  stomachs  full  and  everybody  became 
cheerful  once  more;  even  the  old  man  thought  that  he 


YANKEE    SWANSON  281 

was  feeling  better,  and  as  the  weather  had  a  promising 
look,  we  set  every  sail  we  had  and  squared  off  to  pass 
through  the  north  channel  between  England  and  Ireland. 

We  were  two  months  out  from  Archangel  the  morning 
we  entered  the  north  channel.  We  passed  close  to  the 
Irish  coast,  Fair  Head  Lighthouse  about  four  miles  off. 
Shipping  of  all  kinds  was  plentiful.  The  wind  was  fair 
and  the  prospect  of  not  getting  into  any  more  trouble 
was  good. 

The  following  day  the  wind  came  out  from  the  south- 
ward with  rainy  weather.  This  meant  more  hardship, 
because  we  had  to  be  continually  on  deck,  as  we  went 
about  every  two  hours  or  so.  As  the  wind  was  not  too 
strong  and  the  current  seemed  to  be  in  our  favour,  we 
made  a  pretty  good  progress,  and  late  one  afternoon  we 
came  to  anchor  about  a  mile  from  shore  on  the  !N  W  coast 
of  the  Isle  of  Man.  Everybody  being  thoroughly  played 
out  and  the  prospect  of  a  gale  springing  up  from  the 
southward,  Bengston  thought  it  best  to  come  to  anchor 
while  we  had  a  chance,  and  to  recuperate  a  little,  as  we 
would  not  be  able  to  do  much  anyhow  in  a  southerly 
gale. 

It  was  an  awful  job  to  get  the  anchors  over  the  bow, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  they  had  been  stowed  on  the  gallant 
fo'cs'le,  which,  having  caved  in  altogether,  the  anchors 
had  to  be  lifted  up  over  the  bulwarks.  But  where  there 
is  a  will  there  is  a  way,  and  we  did  it.  The  anchor  down 
and  the  sails  furled  after  a  fashion,  we  turned  in  and 
slept  the  sleep  of  the  just.  In  the  morning  it  started  to 
blow  from  the  southward  and  increased  to  a  fresh  gale  by 
nightfall.  We  were  well  sheltered  where  we  were  an- 
chored, because  the  wind  was  off  the  land.  A  great  many 
vessels  came  in  and  anchored  during  that  day,  evidently 
expecting  it  was  going  to  be  real  bad  weather. 

The  Isle  of  Man  has  a  pretty  appearance  from  the  sea, 


£82  YANKEE    SWANSON 

and  it  is  pretty  on  shore  too,  as  I  found  out  when  going 
ashore  a  few  days  later. 

In  the  evening  after  we  had  anchored,  a  fishing  boat 
came  alongside  and  we  bought  some  fish.  They  promised 
to  come  back  the  next  day  to  bring  us  off  some  stores  and 
also  to  take  on  shore  some  mail,  Bengston  being  anxious 
to  notify  the  owner  and  the  consignee  of  the  cargo  that 
we  were  all  right  and  at  anchor  off  the  Isle  of  Man. 

Owing  to  the  strong  wind,  no  boats  came  out  the  next 
day.  Several  more  vessels  came  in  and  anchored,  one  of 
them  a  British  barque  we  had  been  with  at  Archangel. 
She  also  showed  traces  of  a  hard  passage,  her  jib  boom 
gone  and  bulwarks  stove  in,  and  she  had  also  lost  two  men 
on  the  trip  over. 

The  following  day  it  was  still  blowing  hard.  A  boat 
came  out  and  called  at  several  of  the  British  vessels,  and 
Swanson  hailed  it  just  as  it  passed  under  our  stern.  The 
boat  came  alongside  and  Bengston  gave  the  boatman  a 
couple  of  telegrams  that  he  wished  forwarded,  and  also  a 
letter  asking  permission  to  be  allowed  to  send  a  boat  on 
shore  when  the  weather  moderated,  as  he  wanted  to  con- 
sult a  doctor  and  also  buy  a  few  stores.  The  boatman 
went  away  and  during  the  day  a  signal  by  means  of  the 
code  flags  was  run  up  on  shore,  notifying  Bengston  that 
permission  had  been  granted. 

Bengston  told  Swanson  to  go  ashore  as  soon  as  he 
thought  it  was  safe  to  do  so,  in  the  small  dingy,  and  ac- 
cordingly we  got  the  boat  ready  and  Swanson  detailed 
the  cook  and  me  to  be  boat  pullers.  The  wind  continued 
to  blow  from  the  southward,  and  it  was  several  days  be- 
fore Swanson  deemed  it  safe  to  launch  the  little  boat. 
We  landed  on  the  beach  and  dragged  the  dingy  up  clear 
of  the  water.  The  town  was  a  couple  of  miles  away 
from  where  we  landed,  and  Swanson  started  off  on  foot 
toward  the  town.  He  had  not  gone  very  far  when  he 


YANKEE    SWANSON  283 

came  back  and  said  that  walking  was  bad  and  proposed 
that  we  walk  up  to  a  place  that  looked  like  a  farmhouse 
and  there  engage  a  horse.  Having  arrived  at  the  place, 
a  man  and  a  dog  met  us,  and  Swanson  remarked  that  he 
was  glad  we  had  not  brought  Nap  with  us,  as  the  dog 
seemed  to  be  savage. 

Swanson  introduced  himself,  after  which  he  enquired 
if  he  could  hire  a  horse  to  take  him  to  town.  The  price 
the  farmer  asked  was  very  reasonable,  and  by  hiring  two, 
he  gave  Swanson  to  understand,  it  would  be  cheaper  still. 
Under  those  conditions  Swanson  thought  it  would  be  to 
his  advantage  to  hire  two  and  take  the  cook  along,  as  he 
intended  to  buy  a  few  things  in  town. 

The  farmer  said  that  as  a  rule  he  did  not  like  to  rent 
out  his  horses  to  sailors,  as  he  had  invariably  found  them 
to  be  poor  riders,  but  Swanson  assured  him  that  he  had 
been  a  farmer  himself  at  one  time,  and  although  he  had 
not  ridden  for  years,  he  felt  sure  that  he  was  able  to 
manage  them. 

The  cook  thought  he  would  go  him  one  better  and  told 
the  farmer  that  he  had  served  in  the  British  cavalry  in  the 
Crimean  war,  and  felt  sure  that  he  could  manage  any 
camel  they  had  on  the  Isle  of  Man. 

Giving  me  instructions  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  dingy  and 
to  stay  around  the  farmhouse  until  they  came  back,  the 
two  cavalrymen  mounted  and  were  off.  I  could  ride 
horseback  myself  a  little,  and  the  moment  the  cook  got  on 
his  horse  I  could  tell  that  he  had  never  been  on  one  before. 
Swanson,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  at  home? 

The  cook  remarked  that  the  saddle  was  not  of  the  kind 
he  was  used  to,  but  he  thought  it  would  do  after  he  had  got 
used  to  it  a  bit.  As  they  started  off,  the  dog  commenced 
barking  and  snapping  at  the  heels  of  the  cook's  horse, 
causing  it  to  shy  a  little  to  one  side,  and  down  came  the 
cook  with  a  thud  that  must  have  been  very  painful. 


284  YANKEE    SWANSON 

The  farmer  laughed  and  advised  the  cook  not  to  try  it 
again,  but  he  would  not  stand  for  it  and  mounted  afresh, 
remarking  that  he  used  to  ride  camels,  but  had  not  ridden 
any  since  he  was  in  the  Indian  Mutiny. 

The  farmer  chased  the  dog  away,  and  the  cook  started 
off  at  a  brisk  trot,  Swanson  being  some  distance  in  the 
lead. 

The  farmer  asked  me  to  come  into  the  house.  He  told 
me  to  take  a  seat  and  informed  his  wife  and  two  pretty 
daughters  who  I  was.  They  seemed  to  be  interested,  and 
asked  me  questions.  I  gave  them  a  detailed  account  of 
our  terrible  voyage,  and  showed  my  bruises  on  arms  and 
legs,  and  worst  of  all,  my  hands,  which  were  badly  swollen, 
with  great  big  cracks  in  the  finger  joints  which  caused 
them  to  bleed  when  I  tried  to  straighten  out  my  fingers. 
The  mother  sympathised  with  me  and  gave  me  some  oint- 
ment to  take  with  me. 

At  dinner  I  was  asked  to  take  a  seat  at  the  table,  and 
enjoyed  it  very  much,  not  having  had  such  a  meal  since 
my  friend  Sambo  treated  me  in  Archangel. 

Having  told  them  about  the  loss  of  most  of  our  clothes, 
they  made  me  up  a  little  bundle  which  I  opened  on  board 
ship  and  found  five  pairs  of  ladies'  stockings. 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  with  the  daughters  down  in 
the  basement  and  assisted  them  in  stowing  away  a  lot  of 
potatoes,  which  was  their  winter  supply,  I  suppose.  They 
were  very  chatty,  and  I  warmed  up  a  bit  and  related  lots 
of  things,  mostly  about  Jack  and  l^ap,  and  what  a  lot  of 
fun  it  was  to  be  a  sailor. 

As  I  had  a  number  of  Russian  cups  that  I  had  intended 
to  send  to  Grangemouth,  I  thought  I  could  spare  a  few 
of  them,  and  I  promised  to  send  them  something  real 
pretty  the  next  day  if  I  had  the  opportunity. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  cavalrymen  returned,  the 
cook  having  fallen  off  no  less  than  six  times.  He  swore 


YANKEE    SWANSON  285 

that  he  would  never  go  riding  a  camel  again  if  they  made 
him  a  present  of  it. 

The  farmer  asked  them  to  take  a  drink  before  they  went 
on  board,  which  they  accepted,  the  cook  remarking  that 
the  stuff  was  first  class,  but  that  the  glass  was  not  quite 
up  to  the  standard. 

We  said  "  Good-bye "  all  around,  and  went  down  to 
the  beach  and  launched  the  boat. 

We  were  not  long  getting  off  to  the  vessel,  because  we 
had  fair  wind,  and  besides  the  weather  had  somewhat 
moderated.  As  we  came  alongside  every  one  was  there 
to  meet  us.  Nap  was  barking  and  scratching  at  the  gang- 
way, anxious  to  get  us  on  board. 

Having  dropped  the  boat  astern,  I  went  off  with  Jack 
and  gave  him  a  detailed  account  of  my  day's  outing.  He 
laughed  immoderately  when  I  told  about  the  cook  falling 
off  the  horse,  but  he  promised  not  to  say  anything  about  it 
to  the  other  men  unless  Swanson  or  the  cook  himself  felt 
like  saying  something  about  it,  because  everybody  had  a 
great  deal  more  respect  for  the  cook  of  late,  on  account 
of  the  way  he  had  acted  during  and  after  the  storm. 

Swanson  had  brought  some  medicine  for  Bengston,  as 
well  as  for  the  rest  of  the  crew,  who  stood  in  need  of  it, 
and  the  ointment  the  farmer's  wife  had  given  me  I  let 
everybody  use,  and  we  found  it  was  fine  stuff. 

During  the  night  the  wind  came  out  from  the  north. 
The  anchor  watch  having  instructions  to  call  Swanson  in 
case  of  any  change  in  the  weather,  I,  whose  watch  it  was 
when  the  change  occurred,  went  down  and  roused  him 
out.  He  came  and  took  a- look  at  it,  after  which  he  went 
down  to  consult  the  captain  about  getting  under  way. 

Some  of  the  vessels  at  anchor  were  already  engaged  in 
heaving  in  on  their  cables  when  Swanson  told  me  to  go 
below  and  rouse  all  hands.  When  they  were  on  deck 
Swanson  gave  orders  to  hoist  the  dingy  while  Jack  and 


286  YANKEE    SWANSON 

I  were  sent  aloft  to  loose  the  topsails.  When  we  came 
down  the  dingy  was  secured,  and  all  hands  manned  the 
windlass.  While  heaving  away  no  one  had  taken  any  no- 
tice of  what  the  other  vessels  anchored  near  by  us  were 
doing,  and  the  first  thing  we  knew  a  small  barque,  her 
foretopsails  aback,  drifted  down  and  was  almost  on  top 
of  our  vessel  before  anybody  knew  anything  about  it ! 

Swanson  seeing  what  was  going  to  happen,  sang  out, 
"  Avast  heaving,"  and  gave  orders  to  pay  out  chain.  By 
so  doing,  we  just  avoided  being  run  down;  as  it  was,  the 
other  vessel's  stern  scraped  our  starboard  side  the  whole 
length  and  carried  away  her  outriggers.  It  was  pitch 
dark  and  we  could  not  see  anybody  on  board  of  her,  but 
somebody,  presumably  the  captain  or  the  mate,  com- 
menced to  abuse  us  in  language  unmentionable,  stating 
that  it  was  our  fault;  that  we  were  in  their  way  for 
manosuvring.  Swanson  responded  by  throwing  an  iron 
belaying  pin  on  board  that  made  somebody  howl,  and 
more  would  have  followed  the  first  one  if  the  pins  could 
have  been  got  at  handy. 

After  the  excitement  had  subsided  a  little  we  manned 
the  windlass  again,  hove  short,  and  sheeted  home  the  top- 
sails. We  stood  off  on  the  starboard  tack  under  the  two 
lower  topsails,  until  we  had  the  anchor  up  and  secured, 
after  which  we  set  everything  that  would  draw  and 
squared  away  before  the  wind. 

When  daylight  came  on  we  were  abreast  of  the  Calf  of 
Man  Light  before  a  fresh  northerly  breeze,  and  with  the 
prospect  in  view  of  making  the  entrance  of  the  Bristol 
Channel  the  following  evening,  where  Bengston  thought 
we  would  be  able  to  get  a  tug  to  hook  on  to  us  and  take 
us  to  Newport. 

It  had  been  extremely  hard  work  to  get  the  anchor  up 
and  secured  and  all  the  sails  set,  shorthanded  as  we  were 
and  none  of  us  feeling  as  yet  extra  well.  However,  we 


YANKEE    SWANSON  287 

were  all  very  glad  to  be  away,  knowing  that  we  would 
have  some  rest  once  at  Newport,  because  Bengston  fully 
expected  that  we  would  be  there  a  couple  of  months  dis- 
charging and  refitting.  Ericson  and  Herald  would  have 
to  be  sent  to  the  hospital,  as  they  were  not  improving  like 
the  rest  of  us.  Ericson  was  continually  spitting  blood, 
and  Herald  complained  of  a  nasty  pain  in  his  chest. 

The  weather  continued  fine  and  the  wind  fresh,  and  we 
made  about  ten  knots  per  hour  and  the  following  evening 
•we  were  off  Lundy  Island  Light.  We  got  a  pilot  on 
board,  and  after  some  wrangling  about  the  price  with  a 
tugboat  that  hailed  us,  the  pilot  gave  orders  to  take  in 
everything,  and  to  the  tugboat  to  pass  his  hawser  on  board. 

We  towed  all  that  night  and  the  next  day  about  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  we  dropped  our  anchor  in  the 
roads  just  outside  of  Newport.  The  quarantine  officer 
and  the  custom  house  officials  came  on  board  and  expressed 
their  surprise  at  our  having  arrived  at  all  when  they  saw 
the  condition  of  the  crew  as  well  as  the  vessel. 

The  quarantine  officer,  who  seemed  to  be  a  fine  gentle- 
man, told  Captain  Bengston  to  send  the  sick  people  who 
wanted  to  go  to  the  hospital  on  shore  in  his  steam  launch, 
and  he  would  see  to  it  that  they  were  properly  treated. 
Captain  Bengston  thanked  him  for  this  consideration,  but 
objected  on  the  grounds  that  he  wanted  to  get  on  shore 
himself  first  and  send  some  decent  clothes  on  board  for 
the  men  before  allowing  them  to  go  on  shore.  He  did 
not  like  them  to  appear  in  the  condition  they  were  in,  not 
having  had  a  change  of  clothing  since  the  day  our  trou- 
bles commenced. 

The  doctor  persuaded  him  not  to  bother  with  that,  in- 
asmuch as  the  men  would  receive  clean  clothes  at  the 
hospital,  that  being  the  rule  of  the  institution. 

Accordingly  Ericson  and  Herald  left  with  the  doctor. 
Bengston,  with  the  assistance  of  Swanson  and  the  cook, 


288  YANKEE    SWANSON 

also  went  on  the  boat,  Bengston  being  anxious  to  see  the 
Swedish  consul,  and  to  make  a  protest  in  regard  to  the 
loss  of  deck  cargo  and  damage  to  ship  and  crew,  as  well 
as  the  loss  of  three  seamen. 

Swanson,  cook,  Jack,  and  I,  and  two  seamen  were  all 
that  were  left  of  the  crew.  We  had  had  a  cup  of  coffee 
in  the  morning,  but  as  yet  no  breakfast.  Swanson  went 
off  by  himself  and  lit  his  pipe,  while  cook,  Jack,  and  I 
squatted  down  on  the  deckload,  making  believe  we  took 
pleasure  in  admiring  the  shipping  and  other  things  about 
us.  It  is  very  hard  to  admire  anything  when  a  fellow's 
stomach  is  empty.  I  have  found  that  out  on  several  oc- 
casions, but  on  none  as  much  as  on  this  particular  one. 

Captain  Bengston  had  promised  to  send  a  lot  of  stores 
on  board  to  us  just  as  soon  as  he  reached  the  town,  and 
that  is  what  we  were  waiting  for  now.  Neither  the  cook 
nor  any  one  of  us  boys  would  go  and  light  the  fire  until  the 
shipchandler's  boat  would  come  in  sight  with  the  much 
longed  for  luxuries.  Swanson  was  as  anxious  about  it  as 
any  of  us.  He  smoked  one  pipe  after  another,  the  while 
looking  toward  Newport.  And  poor  Nap,  he  was  but  a 
shadow  of  his  former  self.  I  doubt  if  he  would  have 
taken  any  notice  even  of  the  two  Dutchmen  on  a  lumber 
pile. 

It  was  twelve  o'clock  when  the  boat  came  alongside 
with  the  stores.  Nap  was  aware  of  it  before  any  of  us, 
and  he  started  to  hold  his  nose  high,  his  nostrils  working 
like  a  pair  of  bellows,  finally  starting  to  howl  and  to  run 
about  the  deckload  like  one  beset. 

We  had  waited  a  long  time,  it  seemed,  but  now,  by 
looking  at  all  the  good  things  in  the  boat,  it  seemed  as  if 
it  had  been  worth  while. 

The  boatmen  told  Swanson  that  the  captain  had  told 
the  shipchandler  to  send  out  everything  that  he  thought 
would  be  good  for  sailors  who  had  not  had  anything  to 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

eat  for  a  month.  I  shan't  itemize  what  we  got,  but  will 
say  that  there  was  full  and  plenty  of  everything,  and 
cook  and  we  boys  got  busy  for  fair. 

The  boatman  brought  a  letter  for  Swanson  from  the 
captain  telling  him  that  he  would  not  be  back  for  a  couple 
of  days  and  that  our  mail  from  home  would  be  sent  out 
the  next  morning  in  the  shipchandler's  boat.  There  was 
also  a  bottle  of  whiskey  for  Swanson  from  the  shipchan- 
dler,  which  the  boatman  delivered  with  instructions  that 
Swanson  should  treat  the  boys.  That  done,  the  boat 
shoved  off  to  board  another  vessel. 

Jack  and  I  were  peeling  potatoes  and  onions  while  the 
cook  cut  up  steaks.  Swanson  came  down  in  the  cabin 
and  told  us  to  hurry  up,  as  he  was  afraid  he  would  faint. 
He  hunted  up  a  corkscrew  and  the  cook  almost  fainted 
when  he  heard  the  joyful  sound  of  a  cork  being  extracted. 
He  turned  around  and  could  hardly  believe  his  eyes  when 
he  saw  Swanson  with  a  bottle  in  one  hand  and  the  big 
glass  in  the  other. 

"  Cook,"  said  Swanson,  "  I  have  here  a  bottle  of  Three 
Star  Hennessy  brandy,  which  the  shipchandler  sent  off 
to  treat  the  crew  with,  and  as  you  and  I  are  all  that  is 
left  —  not  counting  the  boys  of  the  crew  —  who  are  able 
to  take  a  drink,  I  wish  to  say  before  we  do  drink  at  all, 
that  I  consider  it  an  honour  to  clink  glasses  with  an  old 
man  who  has  proved  himself  to  be  as  good  a  sailor  as  you 
are  and,  I  am  not  ashamed  to  add,  as  good  a  seaman  as  I 
ever  have  been  shipmate  with,  when  it  comes  to  a  real 
test  of  pluck  and  endurance.  I  wish  the  whole  crew 
were  here  to  bear  witness  to  what  I  am  saying,  because 
there  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  if  it  had.  not  been  for 
you  we  would  all  have  gone  to  the  Fiddler's  Green  in- 
stead of  being  safe  at  anchor  off  this  port.  I  don't  want 
you  to  get  the  swell-head  because  I  have  said  this;  it  is 
nothing  but  the  truth,  but  for  fear  that  you  should  think 


290  YANKEE    SWANSON 

I  am  throwing  bouquets  at  you,  I  will  conclude  by  saying 
that  you  are  without  any  exception  the  worst  sea  cook  and 
handiest  man  for  spoiling  good  grub  that  I  ever  knew." 

The  cook  responded  by  saying  that  he  felt  fine  to  know 
that  he  (Swanson),  who  everybody  recognised  as  a  first 
class  seaman,  thought  so  highly  of  his  seamanship.  As 
for  Swanson's  opinion  of  his  cooking,  that  was  altogether 
too  flattering,  and  he  was  a  little  afraid  that  Swanson 
inhaled  the  odour  of  the  choice  steak  he  was  just  then 
putting  on  the  frying  pan,  and  being  overcome  by  it,  made 
use  of  a  statement  that  could  only  come  from  somebody 
who  was  entirely  ignorant  of  good  cooking,  such  as  he 
expected  a  Yankee  sailor  would  be. 

"  Well,  all  right,  cook,"  said  Swanson.  "  I  won't  argue 
the  point  with  you.  I  know  that  you  would  get  the  best 
of  me  every  time  when  it  comes  to  telling  lies  or  arguing, 
but  believe  me,  what  I  said  is  true  as  the  gospel,  and  we 
will  say  no  more  about  it,"  and  with  that  they  clinked 
their  glasses  and  drank. 

The  cook  smacked  his  lips  and  remarked  that  it  was 
great  stuff  and  what  a  pity  it  was  that  there  was  so  little 
of  it.  Then  a  thought  struck  him  that  it  would  not  be 
out  of  the  way  to  take  another  small  one,  and  to  let  us  boys 
join  them,  as  we  had  proved  ourselves  to  be  pretty  good 
sailors,  and  that  he  and  Swanson  both  should  consider  it 
an  honour  to  take  a  drink  with  two  such  cracker  jacks  as 
we  were.  But  Swanson  did  not  approve  of  it.  He  said 
the  stuff  was  too  strong  for  the  likes  of  us,  and  that  when 
we  got  on  shore  where  we  could  get  something  milder  than 
brandy  we  would  all  take  something  together. 

"  Quite  right,"  said  the  cook.  "  But  that  doesn't  hinder 
you  and  me  from  drinking  to  their  long  health  and  pros- 
perity. It  will  do  the  boys  as  much  good  as  if  they  had 
drank  it  themselves.  They  are  good  boys,  and  as  long 
as  they  can't  drink,  there  is  no  harm  in  a  couple  of  old 


YANKEE    SWANSON  291 

sea  dogs  like  you  and  me  doing  it  for  them.  How  about 
that?" 

"  All  right,  then,"  said  Swanson.  "  Only  I'm  afraid 
that  you  will  spoil  all  the  good  things  we  have  got  to  eat 
if  you  take  another  drink.  However,  I  will  give  you 
another  one."  And  wilh  that  he  poured  out  a  stiff  one 
for  the  cook,  which  he  swallowed  down  without  saying 
as  much  as  "  ah,"  only  remarking  that  it  was  like  mother's 
milk. 

We  sat  down  to  a  good  meal  and  nobody  said  anything 
more  about  bad  cooking.  I  think  it  tasted  better  than 
anything  I  had  ever  eaten  before,  and  so  did  Jack. 

The  cook  had  made  up  a  great  big  dishful  of  good  stuff 
for  Nap,  and  he  went  at  it  as  only  a  thoroughly  starved- 
out  dog  can  eat.  If  any  one  looked  at  him  while  he  was 
eating  he  would  snarl  and  show  his  teeth  as  if  afraid 
somebody  would  take  it  away  from  him. 

When  we  had  finished  our  dinner  Nap  had  already 
gone  away  and  turned  in  to  Jack's  bunk,  where  we  found 
him  reposing  with  his  nose  to  the  wall,  looking  very  much 
like  a  stuffed  pig.  Jack  spoke  to  him  and  rolled  him 
over  on  his  back,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  like  such  familiar- 
ity just  then.  He  had  a  frown  on  his  face  as  if  in  pain 
and  wanted  to  be  left  alone. 

We  helped  the  cook  to  clear  away  the  table,  after  which 
Swanson  and  the  cook  went  to  their  bunks,  while  Jack 
and  I  went  up  on  deck  and  squatted  down  alongside  of  the 
house,  wondering  what  would  be  on  the  programme  next, 
whether  we  would  be  towed  into  dock  on  the  following 
morning  or  would  have  to  remain  outside  for  some  time. 

I  was  anxious  to  get  my  letters  from  home  and  to  hear 
from  my  brother,  who  must  have  received  his  money  by 
this  time  if  he  was  to  get  any  at  all. 

Our  little  scheme  of  getting  home  by  Christmas  was 
now  out  of  the  question  entirely.  It  was  now  the  seventh 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

of  December,  and  as  Bengston  fully  expected  that  we 
would  be  at  this  place  two  months  it  would  be  in  the  latter 
part  of  February  before  we  could  possibly  get  home.  I 
had  so  often  related  to  my  friend  the  jolly  times  we  were 
in  the  habit  of  having  at  home  during  Christmas  and  New 
Year's,  and  of  all  the  good  things  we  had  to  eat,  and  this 
had  so  worked  upon  the  poor  boy  that  I  really  think  he 
felt  the  disappointment  more  than  I  did.  "  Oh,  well," 
he  would  say,  "  you  will  get  a  letter  from  grandpa  to- 
morrow, and  then  you  will  be  happy.  I  wish  I  knew 
where  my  father  is,  if  he  is  alive.  I  shall  try  to  find  him 
some  day.  Bengston  has  promised  me  that  he  will  make 
enquiries  while  we  are  in  England,  but  now  that  the  old 
man  is  so  sick,  I  guess  he  can't  do  much." 

Jack  then  brought  out  the  tin  whistle.  He  had  not 
touched  it  since  before  the  gale.  He  tried  to  run  off  the 
scales  and  found  that  his  fingers  were  so  stiff  that  he  could 
not  do  it.  He  seemed  very  much  surprised  and  putting 
the  whistle  away  commenced  to  shake  his  legs  as  if  afraid 
they  would  be  in  a  similar  condition.  Such  was  not  the 
case,  however ;  evidently  they  were  as  limber  as  ever.  He 
asked  me  to  take  a  hand  in  the  dancing,  but  I  reminded 
him  that  Swanson  was  asleep  and  if  he  should  happen  to 
wake  up  on  account  of  the  noise  we  were  making,  he  would 
not  like  it. 

It  was  almost  dark  when  Swanson  came  on  deck.  He 
asked  us  if  any  boats  had  been  alongside,  and  I  told  him 
no,  but  that  some  had  been  over  to  the  other  vessels  at 
anchor. 

"  Have  you  boys  had  any  sleep  this  afternoon  ?  "  asked 
Swanson.  Having  answered  in  the  negative,  he  said, 
"  Well,  why  didn't  you  ?  You  will  have  to  stand  anchor 
watch  to-night,  and  mind  the  riding-light  don't  go  out  on 
us.  Some  steamer  might  run  us  down  like  the  one  at  the 
Isle  of  Man." 


YANKEE    SWANSON  293 

Jack  and  I  did  not  mind  the  anchor  watch.  It  was  a 
pleasure  in  comparison  with  the  hardship  we  had  just 
gone  through. 

After  supper,  which  was  equally  as  good  as  the  dinner, 
we  sat  down  to  the  table  in  the  cabin  and  looked  through 
some  newspapers  that  the  boatman  had  given  Swanson.  I 
could  read  the  English  language  much  better  than  Jack,  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  I  continually  studied,  whereas 
Jack  was  bent  upon  learning  Swedish,  and  spent  his  spare 
time  getting  information  from  Herald  in  that  language. 

Jack  had  now  been  with  us  a  little  over  four  months, 
and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  as  far  as  speaking  is 
concerned,  a  person  would  almost  take  him  to  be  a  native 
of  that  country.  It  seemed  a  mania  with  him  to  speak  in 
that  language.  Even  when  Swanson  spoke  to  him  in  Eng- 
lish, Jack  would  answer  in  Swedish,  which  made  the  mate 
laugh  at  times,  and  he  swore  that  the  boy  would  never  be 
anything  but  a  Swede  unless  something  should  happen 
while  we  were  at  Newport  that  would  separate  us  two 
boys. 

We  did  not  stand  any  anchor  watch  that  night  after  all. 
It  was  a  fine  moonlight  night,  and  Swanson  said  we  could 
turn  in,  but  ^ap,  who  had  been  asleep  all  the  afternoon, 
was  turned  out  of  doors  by  Swanson  and  told  to  make 
lots  of  noise  if  any  boats  came  alongside. 

The  next  day  the  Swedish  consul  and  the  agent  of  the 
insurance  company  came  on  board,  a  tugboat  having 
brought  them  alongside.  After  having  talked  to  Swanson 
a  little  while  we  were  all  called  down  in  the  cabin  and  our 
depositions  taken  in  regard  to  the  gale  which  had  done  all 
the  damage  to  the  vessel,  the  loss  of  the  three  seamen,  and 
the  jettisoning  of  part  of  the  deck  cargo.  After  our 
statements  had  been  read  over  to  us  we  were  told  to  hold 
up  our  right  hand  and  swear  that  it  was  the  truth.  Then 
we  signed  it  and  the  thing  was  over.  The  consul  informed 


294*  YANKEE    SWANSON 

Swanson  that  Captain  Bengston  had  been  taken  very  sick 
after  he  got  ashore,  and  had  been  sent  to  a  hospital;  and 
furthermore,  that  he  expected  the  Forsette  would  have  to 
be  towed  to  a  place  called  Bridgewater  to  discharge  her 
cargo,  and  if  so,  the  repairs  would  be  done  at  that  place. 
A  proper  survey  would  be  held  on  the  vessel  after  the 
cargo  was  discharged,  and  if  the  hull  was  badly  damaged 
most  likely  the  vessel  would  be  condemned  and  the  crew 
that  had  been  shipped  in  Sweden  would  get  free  transpor- 
tation home. 

After  our  visitors  had  gone,  Swanson  told  us  what  they 
had  said.  I  had  become  so  interested  in  what  Swanson 
told  me  that  I  had  not  noticed  my  friend's  disappearance. 
I  looked  around  and  could  see  neither  him  nor  the  dog. 
The  cook  came  out  of  the  cabin  and  I  asked  him  if  he  knew 
where  Jack  went.  He  answered,  "  Down  in  the  den  play- 
ing with  the  dog.  Where  else  would  he  be  ?  "  The  door 
to  the  den,  as  a  rule,  was  left  open,  and  it  surprised  me  to 
find  it  closed.  I  opened  the  door  softly  and  found  my 
friend  and  Nap  in  the  bunk,  embracing  one  another,  the 
boy  crying  as  if  his  heart  was  completely  broken,  and  the 
dog  whining  as  if  something  was  radically  wrong.  I  said 
nothing  at  first,  for  the  simple  reason  that  I  could  not 
trust  myself  to  open  my  mouth,  well  knowing  if  I  had  I 
too  would  have  cried.  As  it  was,  I  felt  a  big  lump  rising 
in  my  throat,  but  I  controlled  myself  until  Jack  came  to 
a  bit,  and  seeing  me  sitting  in  the  den  he  jumped  up  and 
again  began  crying,  at  the  same  time  throwing  his  arms 
about  my  neck  and  shouting  loud  enough,  in  Swedish,  for 
Swanson  to  hear,  "  My  dear  friend,  my  dear  friend.  If 
they  condemn  the  Forsette  I  can  never  go  to  Sweden  with 
you,  and  we  will  never  meet  again,  and  what  will  become 
of  me  and  poor  Napoleon." 

Swanson  then  opened  the  door  and  saw  the  situation  and 
was  very  much  touched.  I  noticed  a  tear  roll  down  his 


YANKEE    SWANSON  295 

cheek,  and  I  know  he  was  aware  of  it  himself,  hard  citizen 
that  he  was.  He  took  the  boy  by  the  hand  and  led  him 
into  his  cabin,  where  he  questioned  him  about  his  sorrow 
and  told  him  that  it  did  not  matter  what  happened  to  the 
old  ship,  Jack  should  go  to  Sweden  with  me  somehow  or 
another,  even  if  he  had  to  foot  the  expenses  himself. 

This  little  talk  of  Swanson's  had  a  wonderful  effect  on 
Jack,  and  a  little  while  after  this  heart-breaking  scene 
Jack  was  doing  a  fancy  clog-dance  on  the  deckload,  and 
the  cook  remarked  that  the  Frenchman  had  gone  clean 
crazy,  and  that  it  would  perhaps  be  as  well  to  get  rid  of 
him  at  Newport  before  he  developed  more  violent  symp- 
toms. He  had  known  several  almost  similar  cases  before, 
he  told  Swanson.  "  Look  at  that  fellow  August  that  went 
to  the  Fiddler's  Green  here  the  other  day.  Well,  you 
didn't  see  him  that  day;  you  were  on  shore  wrhen  he  was 
took  bad.  But  I  had  the  devil's  own  time  to  straighten 
him  out,  and  if  it  hadn't  been  for  a  little  medicine  I 
borrowed  from  the  English  yacht  I  don't  know  what 
would  have  happened." 

Of  course  the  cook  did  not  mean  what  he  suggested 
about  Jack.  He  liked  the  boy  as  well  as  he  was  capable 
of  liking  anybody,  and  would  have  been  the  very  first  to 
resent  any  injury  done  the  boy. 

The  shipchandler's  boat  came  off  with  more  grub  and 
also  brought  our  mail  from  home.  Swanson  received  a  few 
lines  from  Bengston,  telling  him  that  he  was  a  very  sick 
man  at  the  hospital.  Herald  had  developed  symptoms  of 
pneumonia  and  the  doctors  feared  for  his  life.  Ericson 
also  was  in  a  bad  shape,  still  spitting  blood,  but  they  were 
all  well  taken  care  of.  If  orders  came  for  the  vessel  to 
go  to  Bridgewater,  Swanson  was  to  take  charge  as  if  he 
was  the  master  of  the  ship,  Bengston  not  expecting  to  be 
able  to  be  about  for  a  long  time. 

I  received  several  letters  from  home.     My  folks  were 


296  YANKEE    SWANSON 

all  well  and  happy.  They  had  received  my  letters  from 
Archangel  and  enjoyed  them  immensely,  especially  what  I 
had  written  about  Jack  and  the  dog.  Brother  had  arrived 
home  none  the  worse  from  his  experience,  and  he  had  re- 
ceived £2,000  as  his  share  for  bringing  the  vessel  to 
England.  He  had  straightened  up  father's  affairs,  and 
everything  was  as  of  old,  happiness  to  overflowing.  They 
fully  expected  that  the  Forsette  would  be  home  by  Christ- 
mas and  were  making  preparations  accordingly  to  have  a 
rattling  good  time.  Grandpa  was  making  any  amount  of 
alterations  in  his  house  so  as  to  receive  his  adopted  son 
Le  Fevre  and  the  dog  Napoleon  in  befitting  style.  Old 
Blucher  had  passed  in  his  checks  on  the  day  their  letters 
were  written,  and  grandpa  felt  very  blue,  having  expressed 
himself  at  the  dog's  funeral  that  he  did  not  think  it  would 
be  long  before  he  would  follow  suit.  Axel,  my  enemy, 
had  gone  off  to  sea  again.  He  did  not  linger  long  in  the 
village  after  he  was  able  to  get  around  a  bit  from  the 
whaling  he  had  received  from  grandpa. 

We  remained  at  anchor  off  Newport  a  whole  week,  and 
it  was  a  week  of  recuperation,  of  which  we  stood  very 
much  in  need.  Still,  time  hung  heavy,  as  we  were 
anxious  to  get  on  shore  to  have  a  little  recreation,  and  be- 
sides, we  wanted  to  see  our  shipmates  at  the  hospital, 
especially  Herald,  who  had  been  like  a  brother  to  Jack 
and  me. 

It  was  on  a  Sunday  morning  that  a  tugboat  came  along' 
side  and  brought  instructions  from  the  captain  and  the 
Swedish  consul  to  Mr.  Swanson  to  have  the  vessel  towed 
to  Bridgewater.  A  half  dozen  sailors  came  on  board 
to  assist  in  heaving  up  anchor,  the  tugboat  captain 
having  told  Swanson  that  they  were  under  his  in- 
structions until  the  vessel  was  moored  to  his  satisfaction 
at  Bridgewater. 

After  having  our  breakfast,  we  manned  the  windlass. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  297 

The  tide  was  running  at  its  full  strength,  which  caused  a 
great  strain  to  come  on  the  chain,  and  consequently  made 
heaving  very  slow.  Swanson  asked  the  tugboat  captain 
to  pass  his  hawser  on  board  and  take  a  little  strain  on  it 
so  as  to  facilitate  matters  in  heaving.  The  tugboat  man 
was  very  nasty  about  it,  and  said  that  he  had  been  sent  out 
to  tow  the  old  tub  into  port,  and  if  Swanson  was  not  able  to 
get  the  anchor  up  without  the  assistance  of  the  tugboat  he 
would  go  back  to  Newport. 

Swanson  said  no  more,  but  just  then  he  saw  that  the 
fellow  was  under  the  influence  of  liquor.  We  manned 
the  windlass  again,  but  made  no  progress ;  in  fact  we  lost 
several  links  time  and  again  when  the  vessel  would  take 
a  sheer  and  the  chain  would  come  across  the  stem. 

Swanson  became  very  angry,  and  sang  out,  "  Avast 
heaving,"  and  told  the  tugboat  man  he  would  not  heave 
until  the  tide  slacked  up  a  bit,  whereupon  the  tugboat  man 
started  to  use  bad  language  and  threatened  to  leave. 
Swanson  now  thoroughly  aroused,  told  him  to  go  if  he  felt 
like  it,  and  furthermore,  that  he  would  not  make  use  of 
him  or  his  tugboat  on  any  consideration,  if  the  Forsette 
never  got  to  Bridgewater.  He  told  the  sailors  who  had 
been  assisting  us  to  go  on  board  the  tug  as  he  had  no 
further  use  for  them.  The  captain  objected  and  refused 
to  let  them  on  board  again,  saying  that  they  had  been  sent 
to  heave  up  the  anchor,  and  if  they  did  not  heave  it  up  he 
would  see  to  it  that  they  did  not  get  any  pay.  The 
sailors  looked  at  Swanson  as  if  they  wanted  instructions, 
and  one  fellow  remarked  that  the  tide  had  already  slacked 
up  a  little  and  thought  we  could  heave.  The  tugboat 
captain,  seeing  that  Swanson  was  a  little  undecided  about 
what  to  do,  burst  out  laughing,  as  if  it  was  a  great  joke, 
at  the  same  time  making  a  few  nasty  remarks  about  Swan- 
son  and  his  crew. 

Swanson  had  had  enough  of  it.     He  never  was  much  at 


298  YANKEE    SWANSON 

bandying  words,  except  for  the  fun  of  it,  and  then  only 
with  friends.  He  shouted  out  to  the  tugboat  man  that  if 
he  would  come  on  board  he  would  thrash  him  within  an 
inch  of  his  life  in  two  minutes. 

It  appeared  as  though  the  tugboat  man  had  been  looking 
for  something  of  that  sort  from  the  beginning,  because  the 
challenge  was  accepted  at  once.  He  took  off  his  coat  and 
came  out  of  the  pilot  house,  the  while  rolling  up  his  sleeves. 
Swanson  noticed  that  the  fellow  was  a  cripple;  he  halted 
a  little,  but  at  the  same  time  seemed  very  active. 

Swanson,  upon  seeing  this,  excused  himself,  and  begged 
his  pardon,  saying  that  he  would  not  fight  a  cripple  on 
any  consideration.  This  remark  Swanson  really  meant, 
and  would  have  been  willing  to  apologise,  but  the  tugboat 
man  took  it  as  an  insult  and  became  furious.  He  walked 
on  board  and  came  up  on  the  poop,  where  Swanson  was 
then  standing,  and  brandished  his  fist  under  Swanson's 
nose,  calling  him  any  number  of  vile  names.  Swanson 
just  asked  him  to  go  back  on  board  of  his  craft,  as  he 
wanted  nothing  further  from  him,  but  the  fellow  would 
not  listen  to  reason,  thinking,  I  suppose,  that  Swanson 
was  afraid  of  him. 

Finally  he  called  Swanson  a  damned  coward  and  hit 
him  on  the  face  with  the  flat  of  his  hand.  This  was  much 
more  than  Swanson  could  stand.  He  jumped  back  a  few 
feet  and  cautioned  the  fellow  to  be  on  his  guard,  and  so 
began  the  worst  fight  between  two  men  I  have  ever  seen. 
It  was  much  more  of  a  fight  than  the  one  between  Irish 
and  Swanson  at  Archangel,  for  the  reason  that  Swanson 
did  not  have  it  all  his  own  way,  by  any  means,  this  time. 
The  tugboat  man  was  a  scrapper  and  no  mistake.  He 
was  as  lively  as  Swanson,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  drinking,  it  is  hard  to  tell  how  it 
would  have  finished. 

Some  allowance  should  of  course  be  made  for  the  con- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  299 

dition  Swanson  was  in.  He  and  the  cook  had  practically 
sailed  the  ship  for  a  month  on  very  little  to  eat,  so  that  it 
was  little  wonder  that  he  did  not  show  up  as  well  as  I  had 
seen  him  in  other  fights.  However,  Swanson  came  out  on 
top.  The  tugboat  man  sang  out  that  he  had  had  enough 
and  wanted  to  shake  hands  with  Swanson,  but  he  was  so 
feeble  he  could  not  stand  up.  Blood  was  all  over  the 
poop,  and  their  faces  and  hands  were  besmeared  with  it  so 
that  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  recognise  either  of 
them. 

Swanson  sent  the  cook  down  to  bring  the  bottle  and  he 
treated  everybody  while  it  lasted. 

The  tugboat  captain  was  carried  on  board  the  tug  and 
the  crew  washed  and  fixed  him  up  the  best  they  could. 

Swanson,  after  having  washed  and  put  on  sticking 
plaster  here  and  there  did  not  look  so  very  bad,  but  he  had 
a  nasty  black  eye  and  a  swollen  nose  which  did  not  im- 
prove his  looks  any. 

While  Swanson  was  fixing  up,  the  mate  of  the  tugboat 
came  on  board  and  asked  Swanson  if  he  really  meant  not 
to  make  use  of  the  tug.  Swanson  said  that  he  would  be 
glad  to  get  the  use  of  her  provided  they  would  be  reason- 
able and  assist  him  to  get  the  anchor  up,  which  he  con- 
sidered was  nothing  more  than  right,  inasmuch  as  the 
ship  had  to  pay  for  the  services  of  the  boat.  The  mate, 
who  seemed  to  be  a  decent  young  man,  told  Swanson  that 
the  captain  was  out  of  the  way  for  the  time  being  and  that 
he  would  answer  for  doing  the  right  thing  by  Swanson. 
And  also,  if  anything  more  was  said  about  the  fight  he 
would  be  fair  to  Swanson  in  that  respect,  and  make  known 
who  was  to  blame  for  it. 

The  tug  gave  us  the  hawser.  We  manned  the  windlass 
again,  and  in  about  an  hour  we  were  on  our  way  to 
Bridgewater.  Wind  and  tide  being  against  us,  we  made 
poor  headway,  and  in  the  evening  we  dropped  the  anchor 


300  YANKEE    SWANSON 

at  a  place  called  Burnham,  there  to  remain  until  the  tide 
turned  in  our  favour. 

At  midnight  we  were  called  out  to  man  the  windlass 
for  getting  under  way  once  more,  but  as  the  wind  was 
blowing  very  fresh  and  there  was  a  heavy  rain  fall- 
ing, the  tugboat  mate  said  he  would  not  start  before  morn- 
ing. 

At  daylight  the  weather  had  moderated  and  we  hove 
to.  The  scenery  along  the  river  up  to  Bridgewater  was 
very  pretty.  Although  it  was  December,  everything  was 
green  and  Jack  and  I  would  have  enjoyed  it  all  immensely 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  nasty  fight  we  had 
had  on  board  cast  a  sort  of  gloom  over  the  whole  situation. 
We  were  afraid  to  ask  any  questions  of  Swanson.  He 
seemed  so  angry  and  was  continually  feeling  his  nose 
which,  to  judge  by  its  size,  must  have  been  very  sore. 

This  was  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  the  cook  take  Swan- 
son's  part,  and  I  was  somewhat  surprised  at  it.  He  said 
that  he  felt  very  bad  that  the  fight  turned  out  as  it  did. 
He  would  have  liked  to  have  seen  the  tugboat  man  killed 
outright,  as  he  justly  deserved  such  a  fate,  and  if  he  was 
only  a  few  years  younger  he  would  take  on  the  tugboat 
man  himself  after  he  had  recovered  a  bit. 

I  told  the  cook  that  I  thought  the  fellow  would  have 
been  too  much  for  him,  even  if  he  was  twenty  years 
younger,  but  the  cook  laughed  and  said,  "  Don't  you  fool 
yourself,  boy.  I  am  sixty  and  past  now,  but  look  at  the 
way  I  polished  up  a  cook-house  full  of  cooks  at  Arch- 
angel." 

Late  in  the  evening  we  were  moored  to  a  stone  quay  in 
the  dock  at  Bridgewater.  The  man  who  had  assisted  us 
went  back  to  the  tugboat. 

As  no  fire  was  allowed  on  board  of  the  vessel,  we  had  to 
go  ashore  to  get  something  to  eat. 

Swanson  engaged  an  old  man  to  be  night  watchman 


YANKEE    SWANSON  301 

while  the  vessel  was  in  port,  and  after  having  given  him 
some  instructions,  Swanson  told  us  to  come  along. 

It  felt  good  to  be  on  dry  land  again.  Nap  thoroughly 
enjoyed  it.  He  ran  a  long  way  ahead  of  us  and  then 
came  back,  barking  as  if  he  wanted  to  hurry  us  along. 

The  cook  volunteered  the  information  that  he  knew  of 
a  fine  eating-house  kept  by  an  Irish  woman,  who  was  a 
former  sweetheart  of  his.  "  If  she  is  still  doing  business 
that  will  be  the  place  to  go  for  a  square  meal,  and  her 
corned-beef  and  cabbage  can't  be  beat,"  said  the  cook. 


THE  waterfront  streets  at  Bridgewater  were  similar  in 
appearance  to  other  seaport  towns  in  England :  ware- 
houses, public  houses,  and  eating-houses,  with  here  and 
there  a  free  and  easy  place  that  catered  especially  to  the 
sailors  and  dock  labourers,  were  in  evidence. 

I  was  surprised  at  the  great  number  of  drunken  people 
—  women  and  children,  as  well  as  men  staggering  along 
the  street.  I  got  used  to  all  that  before  we  left  Bridge- 
water  ;  so  much  so  that  I  did  not  think  anything  of  it. 

The  cook  made  enquiries  about  his  old  sweetheart,  and 
was  told  she  was  in  business  in  another  part  of  the  town, 
too  far  to  walk  for  the  sake  of  getting  something  to 
eat. 

Swanson  caught  sight  of  a  place  which  took  his  fancy, 
from  its  clean  appearance  on  the  exterior,  and  told  us  to 
come  along.  We  entered  and  found  it  to  be  public  house 
and  restaurant  combined.  Swanson  asked  to  see  the  pro- 
prietor and  was  shown  into  a  private  room.  The  place 
was  almost  packed  with  sailors  and  dock  labourers,  the 
majority  of  which  were  sitting  down  at  little  tables,  play- 
ing cards  and,  of  course,  drinking  ale. 

In  one  corner  of  the  place  was  a  little  platform  raised 
about  three  feet  above  the  floor,  and  on  which  sat  a  fellow 
who  played  the  accordion.  The  tune  he  played  sounded 
very  familiar  to  me;  I  had  heard  it  often  before  among 
the  lumber  piles  at  Archangel,  and  I  tried  to  look  through 
the  tobacco  smoke  to  see  if  I  could  recognise  the  player. 
He  turned  out  to  be  our  friend,  the  boatswain  of  the  Ger- 
man vessel,  who  used  to  amuse  us  at  Archangel.  The 


YANKEE    SWANSON  303 

vessel  he  was  on  had  made  a  very  quick  passage  from  Arch- 
angel to  Bridgewater,  where  she  had  discharged  her  cargo 
and  left  several  weeks  before.  If  it  had  not  been  for  Nap 
I  don't  think  the  boatswain  would  have  recognised  me 
that  evening,  because  he  was  a  little  under  the  influence 
of  liquor,  and  besides,  the  smoke  was  dense,  which  made 
it  difficult  to  see  through. 

Nap's  curiosity  was  aroused  by  the  music;  perhaps  he 
thought  he  had  heard  it  before.  He  walked  up  to  the 
platform,  put  his  forepaws  on  the  edge  of  it,  and  looked 
the  musician  square  in  the  face.  The  music  stopped  all 
of  a  sudden,  very  much  to  the  annoyance  of  a  sailor  and 
a  young  lady  who  were  dancing  to  the  strain  of  "  The  Blue 
Danube." 

"  Mein  Gott  im  Himmel,"  said  the  boatswain,  "  that 
is  Napoleon,  or  I'm  a  liar."  He  came  down  off  the  plat- 
form, took  a  look  around  the  place,  but  his  bleary  eyes 
were  slow  in  detecting  us.  He  finally  got  his  eyes  on  the 
cook,  who  was  lined  up  at  the  bar  with  some  newly  found 
old  shipmates,  to  whom  he  was  relating  his  late  terrible 
experiences.  Judging  from  the  way  the  musician  em- 
braced the  cook,  it  seemed  as  if  they  were  friends  of  long 
standing.  Having  had  a  round  of  drinks  or  two  at  the 
musician's  expense,  the  cook  brought  the  musician  to 
where  we  were  standing,  and  we  met  with  the  same  sincere 
welcome  the  cook  had  received.  Nothing  would  do  but 
that  we  be  introduced  to  the  whole  house.  The  musician 
enlarged  upon  the  fact  that  we  two,  Jack  and  I,  were  the 
two  best  step-dancers  he  had  ever  seen,  and  that  Jack  was 
a  musician  of  no  mean  order,  on  the  tin  whistle. 

The  treating  became  general.  Nothing  seemed  too 
good  for  us,  and  Swanson,  whose  reputation  as  a  scrapper, 
had  preceded  us  to  Bridgewater,  thanks  to  the  musician 
and  the  crew  of  the  German  vessel,  was  looked  upon  as  a 
wonder,  and  everybody  was  anxious  to  see  him  come  out 


304  YANKEE    SWANSON 

from  the  private  apartment  of  the  proprietor,  with  whom 
he  was  still  in  conference. 

When  Swanson  and  the  proprietor  came  out,  the  cook 
and  the  two  seamen  of  ours  were  in  such  a  shape  that  they 
did  not  care  much  for  anything  to  eat.  However,  Swan- 
son  explained  that  he  had  made  arrangements  with  the 
proprietor  that  in  the  future  we  were  to  take  our  meals  at 
this  place,  three  times  a  day,  and  that  he  would  be  paid 
for  it  whether  we  ate  there  or  not. 

The  musician,  who  had  seen  Swanson  at  Archangel  on 
numerous  occasions,  approached  Swanson,  and  after  hav- 
ing introduced  himself  Swanson  remembered  him  and 
they  shook  hands.  The  proprietor  called  for  a  round  of 
drinks  for  the  whole  house,  in  which  Swanson,  out  of  good 
fellowship,  had  to  join,  very  much  against  his  will. 

The  scrap  with  Irish  became  a  general  topic,  as  did  the 
fight  with  the  tugboat  man,  and  Swanson  was  a  happy 
man  when  he  finally  made  his  escape. 

Jack  and  I  went  in  and  had  our  supper,  which  was 
none  too  good,  and  having  finished,  we  intended  to  take  a 
walk  about  the  place,  which  was  not  very  big,  and  then 
go  on  board  and  have  a  good  sleep. 

When  we  went  out  into  the  barroom  the  cook  and  the 
musician  grabbed  hold  of  us  and  insisted  upon  our  giving 
the  crowd  a  treat  to  a  dance.  We  made  all  sorts  of  ex- 
cuses, but  they  would  not  stand  for  any,  and  we  were 
politely  told  that  if  we  wanted  to  get  along  among  British 
seamen  we  simply  had  to  hold  our  end  up  or  else  not 
patronise  the  place,  which  we  would  find  would  be  very 
uncomfortable  indeed.  I  was  for  making  a  break  for  the 
door,  but  Jack  persuaded  me  not  to,  as  we  would  have  to 
come  there  again  to  get  our  grub,  and  they  would  make  it 
disagreeable  for  us. 

Having  consented  to  dance,  the  musician  took  his  chair 
off  the  platform,  where  it  was  unanimously  decided  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  305 

stunt  should  be  performed.  The  musician  seated  himself 
directly  below  us  and  struck  up  a  tune  which  Jack  had 
taught  him  at  Solombola.  The  audience  approved  of 
it,  as  it  was  very  popular  in  England  just  about  that 
time. 

Jack  then  announced  that  we  were  ready,  and  the  musi- 
cian went  to  it,  and  so  did  Jack  and  I.  The  platform 
being  only  about  six  feet  square,  we  did  not  have  much 
room  to  do  any  fancy  steps,  so  confined  ourselves  entirely 
to  keeping  perfect  time,  but  dancing  in  the  same  place, 
something  after  the  fashion  of  the  statue-dance.  When 
the  musician  stopped  playing  we  could  not  hear  ourselves 
for  the  roar  that  arose  from  the  audience;  every  one  was 
thoroughly  satisfied ;  such  perfect  dancing  they  had  never 
seen  before  among  sailormen.  Hound  after  round  of 
drinks  was  called  for,  and  as  Jack  and  I  did  not  drink, 
one  of  the  ladies  of  the  house  passed  around  my  hat  and 
collected  fifteen  shillings,  which  she  turned  over  to  us  with 
the  understanding  that  we  were  to  give  them  one  more 
dance  and  then  we  would  be  allowed  to  go  sightseeing. 
Our  success  was  entirely  unexpected,  as  far  as  money  was 
concerned,  and  of  course  we  danced  another  one,  but  this 
time  on  the  floor  where  we  had  a  chance  to  do  a  little  side 
kicking,  and  turn  a  few  somersaults,  which  greatly  de- 
lighted the  audience.  Then  followed  more  rounds  of 
drinks,  and  the  proprietor  and  his  wife  presented  us  with 
half  a  crown  apiece  in  appreciation  of  the  evening's  enter- 
tainment, which  must  have  netted  them  a  tidy  little  sum, 
to  judge  from  the  number  of  drinks  they  sold. 

We  were  happy  to  get  out  of  the  place.  It  was  simply 
reeking  with  the  odour  of  stale  beer  and  Scotch  whiskey, 
and  this,  combined  with  strong  tobacco  smoke,  made  the 
place  unbearable,  especially  so  for  step-dancing  which  any 
dancer  knows  is  quite  a  little  work  in  itself. 

The  cook  followed  us  out  and  struck  us  for  the  loan  of 


306  YANKEE    SWANSON 

a  few  shillings,  which  he  would  return  with  interest  as 
soon  as  he  could  get  some  money  from  Swanson,  who  was 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  master  of  the  Forsette  for  the 
time  heing. 

Being  anxious  to  get  clear  of  him  and  not  to  have  him 
following  us,  I  gave  him  five  shillings  which  he  said  was 
little  enough,  considering  all  the  trouble  and  care  we  had 
been  to  him  during  the  voyage  when  we  were  laid  up  with 
broken  bones  and  cracked  skulls,  to  say  nothing  about  all 
the  fine  points  he  had  given  us  in  the  manly  art  of  self- 
defence,  by  which  we  could  now  make  a  great  deal  of 
money  if  we  would  consent  to  go  a  box  or  two  in  the  public 
house  after  having  done  a  little  step-dance. 

Dismissing  the  cook,  Jack  and  I  took  a  walk  which 
brought  us  into  a  business  street.  We  took  in  all  the  shop 
windows  and  wound  up  by  spending  the  greater  part  of 
our  earnings  in  buying  ourselves  each  a  nice  suit  of  un- 
derwear. 

On  our  way  back  to  the  ship  we  passed  a  music  hall  and 
we  thought  of  taking  it  in,  but  as  they  objected  to  letting 
Napoleon  enter  we  went  into  a  coffee  place  instead,  where 
we  treated  ISTap,  as  well  as  ourselves,  after  which  we  went 
on  board  and  had  a  fine  sleep. 

The  following  morning  a  big  gang  of  labourers  came  on 
board  and  started  discharging  our  cargo.  Having  no  crew 
except  Jack  and  me  besides  the  two  seamen  —  who,  by 
the  way,  did  not  turn  up,  having  fallen  by  the  wayside,  as 
had  the  cook,  in  the  public  house, —  we  were  exempt  from 
having  anything  to  do  with  the  cargo.  Swanson  engaged 
a  responsible  man  to  look  out  for  the  vessel  during  the 
day,  and  giving  Jack  and  me  instructions  as  to  what  he 
wanted  us  to  do  he  took  the  train  to  Newport  to  consult 
the  captain  and  also  to  call  on  the  other  sick  members 
in  the  hospital. 

The  longshoremen  were  mostly  young  men,  and  Jack 


YANKEE    SWANSON  307 

and  I  very  soon  became  on  friendly  terms  with  them. 
One  fellow  was  quite  a  dog  fancier,  and  took  a  great  deal 
of  interest  in  Napoleon.  He  proposed  to  match  his  bull- 
dog, named  Wellington,  against  Nap,  the  stakes  to  be  one 
pound  a  side.  Jack  would  not  hear  of  it,  as  he  did  not 
like  to  see  animals  hurt,  and  beside  he  considered  that 
now  since  Blucher  was  dead,  grandpa  was  the  rightful 
owner  of  the  dog. 

One  day  this  man  brought  the  bulldog  down  to  the  ship. 
He  was  about  the  size  of  Nap  but  looked  much  stronger. 
He  tied  the  dog  to  a  ringbolt  on  deck  and  went  down  in 
the  hold  to  handle  lumber.  Jack  and  I  were  busy  down 
in  the  cabin  and  were  not  aware  of  the  stranger  being  on 
board,  but  Nap,  who  was  asleep  in  the  den,  undoubtedly 
smelt  the  stranger  and  went  on  deck  to  see  about  it.  We 
were  aroused  by  a  most  horrible  noise  of  dogs  snarling 
and  growling,  and  when  we  arrived  on  deck  the  fight  was 
on  in  full  earnest.  Jack  and  I  attempted  to  get  in  and 
stop  it,  but  the  men,  who  had  assembled  in  full  force,  held 
us  back,  and  while  the  fight  progressed  they  shouted  and 
gave  odds  first  on  Nap  and  then  on  the  Duke,  just  as  their 
fancy  led  them  to  believe  one  dog  was  getting  the  better 
of  the  other.  After  a  while  it  seemed  as  if  Nap  was 
getting  the  upper  hand  of  the  Duke,  and  one  fellow  re- 
marked, "  It  looks  as  if  it  was  about  4  o'clock  at  Water- 
loo, and  it  is  time  for  Blucher  to  make  his  appearance  or 
it  will  be  all  off  with  Wellington."  "  Blucher  is  dead," 
shouted  Jack,  "  and  Nap  will  win."  "  If  he  does,"  shouted 
another  longshoreman,  "  you  shall  have  your  pound.  I 
have  three  pounds  on  Nap  to  win."  "  Go  it,  Nap  " ; 
"  Go  it,  Duke,"  shouted  the  men  as  if  fairly  crazed  with 
excitement. 

The  dogs  now  had  one  another  by  the  throat,  and  Nap 
appeared  to  be  the  stronger.  He  was  walking  backward, 
dragging  the  Duke  slowly,  step  by  step,  along  the  deck 


308  YANKEE    SWANSON 

toward  the  after  hatch,  which  was  open,  and  the  hatch 
combing  only  six  inches  high. 

The  owner  of  Wellington  was  for  calling  off  the  fight 
at  this  stage  of  the  game,  and  it  looked  as  if  it  was  going 
to  develop  into  a  general  engagement  between  the  men, 
but  luckily  calmer  thoughts  prevailed,  and  the  dogs  were 
allowed  to  fight  it  out  to  a  finish.  We  did  not  have  long 
to  wait  for  the  finish,  either.  Wellington  seemed  to  divine 
what  Nap  was  up  to  and  struggled  hard  to  prevent  Nap 
from  dragging  him  along,  but  it  was  in  vain ;  his  strength 
was  gone  and  ]STap  undoubtedly  was  aware  of  it.  They 
were  now  at  the  hatch  combing,  and  were  still  snarling  as 
if  challenging  one  another  to  let  go  their  hold  for  one 
brief  moment,  which  would  give  one  or  the  other  an 
advantage. 

Every  one  was  on  the  qui  vive  as  to  what  would  happen 
next,  when  to  our  surprise  Nap  mustered  every  ounce  of 
strength  left  him,  and  with  one  throw  threw  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  with  a  broken  neck,  down  in  the  hatch.  I 
never  saw  a  more  excited  lot  of  men.  They  swore, 
laughed,  and  joshed  one  another  as  though  it  were  the 
grandest  thing  ever  happened.  Wellington  was  the  best 
scrapper  in  Bridgewater,  and  had  never  been  whipped 
before,  and  there  he  was,  dead  from  a  broken  neck,  killed 
by  Napoleon,  an  entire  stranger  of  doubtful  pedigree. 
This  was  indeed  sad,  but  fair  play  is  the  order  of  the  day 
in  old  England,  and  Nap  was  hailed  as  the  champion  all- 
around  fighter  in  Bridgewater. 

Nap  was  a  pitiful  sight.  Hardly  an  inch  of  his  body 
that  was  not  injured  by  Wellington's  teeth.  We  immedi- 
ately got  some  hot  water  from  shore  and  washed  him,  after 
which  we  applied  arnica  in  abundance,  and  in  about  a 
week  he  was  as  well  as  ever,  barring  several  places  minus 
hair.  We  took  care  that  he  had  no  more  fights  while  at 
Bridgewater,  but  Jack  had  several  tempting  offers  to  sell 


YANKEE    SWANSON  309 

him.  One  man  in  particular  asked  Jack  to  name  his 
price  and  he  would  pay  it,  but  Jack  answered  that  money 
would  not  buy  a  dog  that  had  the  brains  and  fighting 
ability  of  his  Nap. 

Swanson  was  away  from  the  ship  three  days,  and  when 
he  returned  the  cargo  was  out.  He  gave  us  the  news  that 
Captain  Bengston  was  a  very  sick  man,  and  that  Ericson 
was  not  expected  to  live  but  a  few  days  more.  Herald 
was  improving  slowly,  but  as  yet  was  not  able  to  join  the 
vessel.  Our  two  sailors  had  not  been  near  the  ship  since 
the  first  evening  we  arrived  at  Bridgewater,  and  Swanson 
said  that  as  soon  as  they  showed  up  he  would  pay  them 
off,  as  he  had  no  further  use  for  them ;  and  besides,  it  was 
only  an  extra  expense  to  keep  the  crew  by,  as  there  really 
would  be  nothing  for  them  to  do  until  the  ship  had  been 
repaired  and  ready  to  go  to  sea.  The  insurance  agent 
came  on  board  with  a  gang  of  men  and  took  the  ship  out  of 
the  dock  and  put  her  on  the  gridiron,  there  to  examine 
her  bottom.  When  the  tide  receded,  it  left  her  dry,  and  a 
gang  of  ship  carpenters  went  to  work  and  examined  her 
thoroughly.  They  pronounced  her  sound  in  every  way. 
No  bolts  or  knees  had  started,  although  she  had  been  sub- 
jected to  an  awful  strain.  She  was  built  of  oak  through- 
out. 

Upon  examining  the  lower  masts,  it  was  found  that 
all  three  were  sprung  under  the  mast  coats.  The  agent 
scratched  his  head,  this  was  a  little  more  than  he  had 
expected.  It  practically  called  for  everything  new  above 
the  deck.  New  forward  deck  house  and  gallant  fo'cs'les 
were  other  items,  and  the  after  house  would  also  have  to 
be  repaired. 

At  high  water  we  brought  the  Forsette  back  in  the  dock 
and  moored  her  in  a  place  where  we  were  going  to  have 
the  refitting  done,  if  it  should  be  decided  to  do  so.  The 
agent  seemed  to  think  that  it  would  be  cheaper  for  the 


310  YANKEE    SWANSON 

insurance  company  not  to  do  it,  on  account  of  the  lower 
masts  having  been  damaged. 

It  was  now  Christmas,  and  as  yet  the  insurance  people 
had  not  decided  what  they  would  do. 

We  had  an  easy  time  of  it.  The  cook,  Jack,  and  I  had 
very  little  to  do.  We  took  our  three  meals  regularly  at 
the  restaurant,  and  during  the  evenings  we  did  a  little 
stunt  of  dancing  or  boxing,  for  which  we  were  very  hand- 
somely paid.  Jack  put  Nap  through  a  number  of  tricks 
which  added  to  the  attraction  of  the  public  house,  and 
taking  it  all  in  all  we  were  happy  and  had  a  splendid  time. 

Our  cook  had  found  his  former  sweetheart  —  she  was 
now  a  widow  —  and  it  looked  as  if  they  were  gradually 
drifting  together  again,  and  on  the  point  of  becoming  one. 
Every  time  after  a  prolonged  visit  the  cook  would  tell  us 
about  some  new  fine  point  in  the  widow  he  had  only  then 
discovered,  and  could  not  make  out  why  he  had  not  dis- 
covered it  before. 

Christmas  day  the  cook  invited  Jack  and  me  to  go  with 
him  to  the  widow's  to  take  dinner.  We  took  ~Na.p  along, 
because  the  cook  wanted  to  show  her  to  what  a  perfect 
state  he  had  trained  that  dog.  Jack  and  I  each  had  on 
new  clothes,  hats,  and  shoes,  all  bought  with  the  money 
we  had  made  doing  our  little  stunts  at  the  public  house, 
and  the  cook  was  equally  well  rigged,  having  invested  in 
a  new  suit,  with  the  idea  of  making  a  good  impression  on 
the  widow. 

She  lived  in  a  little  cottage  with  a  garden  in  front,  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  town.  As  it  was  Christmas,  nothing 
was  in  bloom,  but  from  the  appearance  of  things  in  general 
everything  seemed  to  be  well  kept,  and  I  thought  the 
garden  must  be  beautiful  in  the  summer  time. 

The  widow  came  to  greet  us,  and  I  was  not  a  little  sur- 
prised to  behold  a  woman  of  about  forty  years  of  age  and 
quite  good-looking.  She  made  us  welcome  in  a  way  that 


YANKEE    SWANSON  811 

bespoke  a  certain  amount  of  refinement,  and  it  struck  me 
at  once  as  being  strange  that  this  fine  motherly  woman 
could  possibly  fall  in  love  with  a  scalawag  like  the  cook. 
She  took  us  into  the  parlour  and  bade  us  be  seated.  Every- 
thing was  as  clean  and  neat  as  scrubbing  and  dusting  could 
make  it. 

After  having  asked  about  our  health  and  how  we  felt 
after  our  terrible  passage,  she  remarked  how  fortunate  we 
were  to  have  had  a  man  on  board  like  Mr.  Johnson  (the 
cook),  who  had  saved  the  ship  and  all  from  total  destruc- 
tion. The  cook  winked  at  me,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Don't 
give  me  away." 

She  went  on  to  say  that  Mr.  Johnson  was  a  most  re- 
markable man,  and  when  she  first  knew  him,  twenty  years 
ago,  he  was  an  extremely  handsome  fellow,  and  that  all 
the  prettiest  girls  in  Liverpool  had  been  crazy  after  him. 
"  Yes,  and  in  London,  too,"  chipped  in  Mr.  Johnson. 
"  In  London,  too,"  repeated  the  widow,  with  special  stress 
on  it,  as  though  she  wanted  Jack  and  me  to  get  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  what  an  awful  lady-killer  Mr.  Johnson 
had  formerly  been.  But  now,  she  took  the  trouble  to 
inform  us,  after  years  of  experience  he  had  come  to  his 
senses  and  was  a  little  more  amenable  to  reason,  and  she 
thought  that  after  such  a  terrible  voyage  as  we  had  had 
from  Russia  he  ought  to  be  satisfied  to  settle  down  and 
get  married,  which  she  had  found  was,  after  all,  the  height 
of  bliss  and  the  only  way  to  live.  The  cook  said  that  for 
the  present  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  stay  on  shore, 
provided  he  could  get  something  suitable  to  do,  but  he 
expected  he  would  have  a  hard  time  to  get  anything  be- 
cause he  was  getting  old,  and  he  particularly  noticed  that 
the  ladies  were  not  as  fond  of  him  as  they  were  formerly. 

The  conversation  dragged  on  in  this  manner  for  some 
time,  and  Jack  and  I  wished  that  a  change  would  take 
place.  The  widow  commenced  busying  herself  with  set- 


312  YANKEE    SWANSON 

ting  the  table,  and  the  cook  went  out  into  the  kitchen; 
as  he  opened  the  door  the  odour  of  roast  turkey  penetrated 
to  where  we  were  sitting.  Jack  looked  at  me  and  winked, 
which  meant  that  by  the  smell  of  things  our  visit  would 
be  fully  what  the  cook  had  cracked  it  up  to  be. 

Nap  and  the  widow  got  along  fine.  She  treated  him  to 
some  small  crackers,  and  patting  him  on  the  head,  said, 
"  Lucky  dog,  you ;  if  Mr.  Johnson  hadn't  been  such  a 
good-natured  fellow  you  would  have  been  drowned  when 
you  jumped  overboard  after  that  big  whale  off  the 
Cape." 

The  widow  gave  us  some  illustrated  books  to  look  at 
while  she  left  us  for  a  little  while.  She  said  she  would 
go  out  in  the  kitchen  and  assist  Mr.  Johnson  with  the 
turkey  and  some  other  luxuries.  Evidently  they  were 
more  at  home  by  themselves.  The  cook  seemed  to  be  do- 
ing the  most  of  the  talking,  and  every  now  and  then  we 
thought  we  heard  the  smacking  of  lips,  which  might  have 
been  caused  by  tasting  of  the  luxuries,  but  perhaps  by 
something  else. 

After  dinner  Jack  put  the  dog  through  a  lot  of  stunts 
which  the  widow  admired  very  much,  and  expressed  her 
desire  to  be  the  owner  of  a  dog  like  Nap.  The  cook  said 
if  he  remained  on  shore  it  would  be  one  of  the  first  things 
he  would  attend  to,  to  train  her  dog  to  do  everything  a 
human  could  do,  except  eat  with  a  knife  and  fork  —  he 
wouldn't  vouch  for  that  —  then  he  would  make  her  a 
present  of  the  dog. 

Thanking  the  widow  for  her  excellent  dinner,  which 
she  said  was  entirely  due  to  Mr.  Johnson's  splendid  cook- 
ing, we  said  "  Good-bye,"  and  took  a  stroll  through  the 
town  and  a  long  way  out  into  the  country. 

Oile  day  a  little  note  came  to  Swanson  from  Captain 
Bengston,  asking  him  to  send  me  to  Newport  by  the  first 
train.  The  cause  of  this  was  that  Ericson  wanted  to  have 


YANKEE    SWANSON  313 

a  talk  with  me  before  lie  died,  on  account  of  my  knowing 
his  mother. 

The  following  morning  I  was  on  my  way  to  Newport 
and  arrived  there  some -time  during  the  afternoon.  Her- 
ald, who  had  permission  to  walk  out  for  a  while  during 
the  day,  was  at  the  depot  to  meet  me. 

We  first  went  to  call  on  Captain  Bengston,  who  was  in 
a  room  by  himself.  He  was  evidently  glad  to  see  me,  and 
said  that  I  had  grown  fat  and  strong-looking  since  he  saw 
me  last.  I  was  sorry  I  could  not  say  the  same  about  him. 
He  had  aged  a  great  deal  and  told  me  his  feet  and  legs 
were  getting  no  better.  He  also  said  that  he  expected  he 
would  have  to  go  home  soon  as  a  passenger  on  a  steamer, 
and  that  Swanson  would  in  all  probability  be  appointed 
master  of  the  Forsette.  Then  having  asked  me  a  few 
questions  about  my  folks  as  to  their  health,  I  said  "  Good- 
bye." He  told  me  to  hurry  up  to  see  poor  Ericson,  whom 
they  expected  would  die  any  moment. 

One  of  the  nurses  took  me  to  the  ward  where  Ericson 
was.  I  had  been  surprised  at  the  captain's  appearance, 
but  it  was  nothing  to  what  now  came  before  my  vision. 
Ericson  was  but  a  shadow  of  his  former  self.  A  fellow 
was  sitting  in  a  chair  by  the  head  of  the  bed  and  every 
now  and  then  he  would  hold  a  cup  to  Ericson' s  mouth,  into 
which  Ericson  would  expectorate  blood. 

Ericson  recognised  me  at  once.  A  smile  spread  over 
his  face,  and  he  held  out  his  hand,  once  so  powerful  and 
now  so  withered  as  to  be  almost  transparent.  The  fellow 
who  was  sitting  on  the  chair  got  up  and  asked  me  to  be 
seated. 

Ericson  made  a  short  cut  of  it  and  started  in  by  telling 
me  that  he  expected  to  die  any  moment.  "  When  you  get 
home  I  want  you  to  tell  my  mother  that  I  am  thinking  of 
her,  first,  last,  and  all  the  time,  and  try  to  persuade  her 
that  nothing  that  scamp  Axel  has  told  her  is  true.  I  had 


314  YANKEE    SWANSON 

a  letter  from  her  a  few  days  ago.  You  can  read  it  your- 
self if  you  like,"  handing  me  the  letter,  "  in  which  she 
says  that  Axel  told  her  that  I  was  a  murderer,  and  now 
when  she  hears  that  we  have  lost  so  many  men  overboard 
she  will  think  that  I  threw  them  over.  Of  course,  you 
know,  Andrew,  I  am  not  an  angel,  but  when  you  see 
mother  tell  her  the  truth  about  me ;  that  will  be  bad  enough 
and  I  will  die  in  peace." 

He  was  now  taken  with  a  bad  spell  of  coughing,  and  the 
nurse  put  the  cup  to  his  mouth.  Having  recovered  him- 
self a  bit  he  started  asking  questions  about  the  ship,  which 
still  seemed  to  interest  him.  He  told  me  that  the  tugboat 
captain  whom  Swanson  had  had  trouble  with  had  occupied 
a  bed  next  to  him  for  several  days,  and  that  he  was  in 
awful  shape  when  he  arrived.  I  told  Ericson  the  circum- 
stances of  the  fight,  and  also  about  the  cook  and  his  latest 
love  affair  which  seemed  as  if  it  was  going  to  be  some- 
thing. 

When  I  was  ready  to  go,  Ericson  whispered  to  me, 
"  Have  you  noticed  anything  familiar  about  this  fellow 
that  takes  care  of  me  ?  "  I  had  hardly  looked  at  the  fel- 
low, so  I  told  Ericson  I  would  take  a  look  at  him  before  I 
left.  "  I  wish  you  would  look  at  him  now  before  you 
go,"  he  said,  "  so  you  can  tell  me  your  opinion  as  to 
whether  you  think  you  have  ever  seen  him  before." 

The  nurse  had  been  away  attending  to  some  other  pa- 
tient in  the  ward,  and  as  he  came  toward  us  I  took  a  good 
look  at  him,  but  could  not  think  of  any  one  he  looked  like, 
and  I  told  Ericson  so. 

"  That's  very  strange,"  said  Ericson.  "  It  must  be  my 
fancy  only,  now  that  I'm  so  near  passing  in  my  checks, 
but  don't  go  away  until  you  have  heard  him  speak ;  maybe 
that  will  give  you  an  idea."  The  nurse  came  up  and 
asked  Ericson  how  he  felt,  and  several  other  questions, 
but  it  reminded  me  of  nothing  I  had  heard  before.  As  I 


YANKEE    SWANSON  315 

took  Ericson's  hand  to  shake  it  for  the  last  time,  he  said, 
"  I  sent  for  you  to  see  you  about  my  mother,  for  one  thing ; 
but  I  also  wanted  you  to  see  this  fellow,  thinking  that  you 
could  help  me  to  solve  this  riddle.  I  know  he  looks  like 
somebody  I  have  very  much  at  heart,  but  I  can't  tell  now 
who  it  is." 

On  my  way  back  to  Bridgewater  I  thought  of  this 
strange  idea  of  Ericson's  but  came  no  nearer  toward  form- 
ing an  idea  of  what  it  could  all  mean  than  when  I  was  at 
the  hospital.  I  was  very  sorry  I  had  not  asked  Ericson 
if  he  had  questioned  the  fellow  as  to  who  he  was,  and  I 
thought  of  writing  to  Ericson  the  next  day  to  do  so.  But 
the  next  day  Ericson  died,  and  I  gave  up  all  further 
thought  about  the  nurse,  never  expecting  for  a  moment 
that  there  was  anything  else  in  it  but  just  Ericson's  strange 
fancy. 

I  gave  Swanson  an  account  of  my  visit  to  Newport,  and 
of  my  interview  with  the  captain  and  Ericson.  He 
seemed  very  much  impressed  with  what  Ericson  had  told 
me  about  the  nurse,  whom  he  had  himself  spoken  to  on 
several  occasions  when  he  had  visited  Ericson  at  the  hos- 
pital. 

"  I  remember  the  fellow  well,"  said  Swanson,  "  and  I 
didn't  see  anything  in  particular  out  of  the  ordinary  about 
him.  He  wore  a  black  beard  that  covered  the  biggest  part 
of  the  face.  If  it  had  not  been  for  that  perhaps  you  could 
have  been  able  to  imagine  him  looking  like  some  one  you 
have  seen  before,  but  I  think  it  was  all  imagination  on 
Ericson's  part." 

I  did  not  tell  my  friend  Jack  anything  about  this  nurse, 
or  what  Ericson  had  asked  me  to  unravel  in  connection 
with  this  strange  imagination  of  his,  which  Swanson  and 
I  thought  it  was.  That  in  itself  was  strange,  because  I 
always  told  him  everything  I  heard.  My  only  excuse  for 
not  telling  him  I  attribute  to  the  fact  that  he  was  so  very 


316  YANKEE    SWANSON 

easily  touched,  and  would  invariably  start  crying;  which 
he  did  when  I  told  him  about  Ericson's  looks  and  how 
resigned  he  was  to  die.  Jack  was  a  great  hand  for  asking 
questions,  and  if  I  had  told  him  when  I  came  back  from 
my  visit  about  this  nurse  and  of  Ericson's  imagination, 
the  boy,  without  any  doubt,  would  have  asked  the  man's 
name.  If  I  could  then  have  answered  that  his  name  was 
Le  Fevre,  it  would  have  solved  Ericson's  strange  imagina- 
tion and  saved  the  boy  many  sleepless  nights  and  much 
expense  in  years  to  come  when  he  set  out  in  search  of  his 
father. 

The  nurse  at  the  hospital  was  Jack's  father,  and  was 
formerly  boss  of  the  smuggling  gang  in  the  Channel 
Islands. 

As  this  story  is  supposed  to  be  an  account  of  my  first 
voyage  to  sea  only,  I  shall  say  nothing  more  about  Jack's 
father,  as  it  would  require  another  book  to  do  so;  but  I 
fancy  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  to  make  a  few  remarks 
about  the  strangeness  of  the  occurrence  as  a  whole. 

I  have  related  the  boy's  story  as  told  by  himself.  From 
it  the  reader  gets  a  knowledge  of  the  mother's  sad  death 
and  the  father's  underhanded  transactions  and  disappear- 
ance. Then  the  boy,  when  on  the  point  of  being  starved 
to  death,  is  rescued  by  a  stranger,  a  foreigner  to  whom  he 
could  not  even  make  his  wants  known.  This  stranger  was 
a  boy  of  about  his  own  age  and  learned  to  love  him  as 
well  as  any  human  can  love  another.  The  boy  is  fed, 
clothed,  and  taken  care  of  much  better  than  ever  before, 
except  when  as  a  child  with  his  mother.  In  short,  these 
rough  strangers  treat  him  well  and  try  their  best  to  make 
a  man  of  him. 

Then  comes  disaster.  One-third  of  the  crew  is  drowned 
and  others  are  injured  to  such  an  extent  that  they  are  taken 
to  a  hospital,  where  one  died,  and  while  there  they  are 
cared  for  by  this  boy's  father,  these  very  men  who  had 


THE  COOK  ON  HIS  WEDDING  DAY. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  317 

done  everything  for  the  boy  that  he  had  so  cruelly  aban- 
doned. 

I  think  John  Fleming  Wilson  or  Jack  London  could 
make  a  readable  novel,  with  this  true  story  of  Jack  Le 
Fevre  as  the  subject. 

New  Year's  day,  Captain  Bengston  left  for  London, 
there  to  take  a  steamer  for  Gothenburg.  He  had  an  idea 
he  would  get  well  sooner  by  going  home  to  his  wife.  The 
nurse  who  had  taken  care  of  Ericson  went  with  the  captain 
and  saw  him  on  board  the  steamer. 

Swanson  received  his  appointment  as  master,  and  de- 
cided to  make  Herald  mate  if  he  was  able  to  leave  the 
hospital  when  we  were  ready  to  go  to  sea. 

The  insurance  people  finally  decided  to  re-rig  the  For- 
sette  and  accordingly  one  morning,  just  after  New  Year's, 
a  gang  of  riggers  came  on  board. 

If  the  cook  had  been  undecided  what  to  do  in  regard  to 
marrying  the  widow,  he  was  not  slow  in  making  up  his 
mind  when  he  found  out  that  Swanson  was  to  be  the  future 
master  of  the  vessel.  "  That  settles  it,"  said  the  cook 
when  he  heard  the  news.  "  Bengston  was  bad  enough, 
to  be  sure."  As  for  being  cook  and  steward  with  Yankee 
Swanson  it  was  out  of  the  question.  "  I  wouldn't  sail 
with  him  across  a  duck  pond,  because  he  would  never  find 
his  destination  unless  he  could  feel  his  way  with  a  boat- 
hook.  Anyhow,  I've  had  enough  of  going  to  sea,  and  no 
mistake.  I  will  now  try  to  do  a  little  cooking  on  dry  land, 
and  if  at  any  time  you  boys  should  come  to  Bridgewater, 
don't  forget  to  call  at  John  Johnson's  restaurant  and 
coffee  parlour,  and  you  will  be  well  treated,  and  better  still 
it  won't  cost  you  much  —  not  you  and  Jack." 

Jack  and  I  called  on  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  several 
times  after  he  had  left  the  ship.  They  treated  us  well, 
especially  Mrs.  Johnson,  and  seemed  to  be  a  happy  couple. 
Johnson  told  us  one  evening,  in  the  presence  of  his  wife, 


318  YANKEE    SWANSON 

that  he  never  knew  what  true  happiness  was  until  he  got 
married  — "  this  time,"  he  added,  as  if  he  suspected  his 
wife  would  make  enquiries  about  the  amount  of  happiness 
he  had  experienced  in  his  first  marriage. 

On  the  day  the  riggers  went  to  work  a  little  American 
barque  loaded  with  wheat  from  Baltimore  hauled  in  to 
the  dock  and  moored  just  astern  of  us.  Swanson  was 
acquainted  with  her  captain.  They  had  formerly  been 
shipmates,  but  were  not  good  friends.  The  captain  had 
his  wife  and  a  son  about  my  age  and  size  on  board.  The 
son  had  the  title  of  third  officer,  and  he  seemed  to  fill  that 
job  very  well  indeed,  because  all  that  was  expected  of  him 
was  to  follow  the  second  mate  about  the  decks  and  assist 
him  in  using  bad  language  and  cursing  the  sailors. 

The  second  mate  informed  me  one  day  that  the  captain 
was  very  anxious  to  have  his  son  put  through  a  course  of 
training  that  would  thoroughly  fit  him  to  become  a  bucko- 
mate,  and  with  that  object  in  view  the  captain  had  selected 
himself  and  his  friend,  the  first  mate,  who  held  the  repu- 
tation of  being  the  best  rough-and-tumble,  knock-down 
mate  out  of  Baltimore.  I  never  saw  either  of  these  two 
mates  knock  down  anybody,  so  I  can't  vouch  for  their 
ability  in  that  particular  line ;  but  in  the  art  of  using  bad 
language  they  certainly  were  past  masters. 

Her  crew,  all  niggers,  left  immediately  she  was  made 
fast,  and  after  a  few  days  the  captain  and  his  wife  left  for 
London,  sightseeing,  I  suppose.  The  captain's  name  was 
Higginson,  and  he  had  been  an  all-round  hard  mate  in  his 
young  days  when  sailing  in  the  California  clippers,  where 
he  and  Swanson  had  been  shipmates.  One  day  he  came 
on  board  the  Forsette.  I  was  sweeping  down  the  decks. 
It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  and  the  riggers  were  on  the 
point  of  knocking  off  for  the  day. 

"  Hey  there,  you,  do  you  know  where  Yankee  Swanson 
is  hanging  out  to-day  ?  "  I  knew  that  Swanson  disliked 


YANKEE    SWANSON  319 

being  called  nicknames,  and  it  wouldn't  be  safe  to  do  so 
in  his  hearing.  I  therefore  answered  the  captain  that  I 
did  not  know  of  any  one  by  that  name. 

"  Well,  that's  strange.  Yankee  must  have  changed  a 
H — 1  of  a  lot  since  we  were  shipmates;  it  never  used  to 
take  him  long  to  let  squareheads  like  you  know  when  he 
was  around." 

"  If  you  are  alluding  to  Captain  Swanson,"  I  said,  "  I 
can  inform  you  that  he  has  gone  up  town  and  won't  be 
back  until  to-morrow." 

"  Captain  Swanson,"  he  repeated,  with  a  leering  grin, 
and  then  remarked  that  Captain  Swanson  wasn't  captain 
of  much.  "  Well,  all  right,  then,  you  tell  him  when  he 
comes  back,  that  Bully  Higginson  has  called  to  see  him, 
and  that  he  has  gone  to  London  to  get  rid  of  some  money. 
Understand  ? " 

"  I  understand,"  I  answered. 

He  surveyed  me  for  a  moment,  with  a  critical  eye,  and 
then  remarked,  as  though  speaking  to  some  of  the  riggers 
who  were  putting  away  their  tools  in  a  box  near  where  he 
was  standing,  "  I  have  a  little  third  officer  on  board  of  my 
craft  that  could  trim  that  fellow  up  to  a  nicety  in  about 
two  minutes.  I  wish  I  had  that  little  squarehead  with 
me  for  a  voyage.  I  think  that  little  third  officer  of  mine 
would  soon  convert  him  into  a  good,  civil  boy." 

"  I  don't  think  your  third  officer  could  do  anything  to 
that  lad,"  said  one  of  the  riggers.  "  Captain  Swanson 
might  not  understand  how  to  trim  up  boys  to  your  taste, 
but  he  certainly  knows  how  to  teach  them  to  handle  the 
mittens." 

Seeing  that  the  riggers  were  not  in  sympathy  with  him, 
he  took  himself  off  to  his  vessel.  I  made  it  a  point  to 
watch  him ;  in  fact,  I  suspected  that  he  was  putting  up  a 
job  of  sending  his  son  over  to  lick  me.  I  found  that  he 
was  in  conversation  with  his  three  ugly  looking  mates,  and 


320  YANKEE    SWANSON 

every  now  and  then  while  talking  he  pointed  toward  the 
Forsette.  Just  about  that  time  our  old  watchman  came 
on  board  to  take  charge  for  the  night,  and  after  having  told 
him  the  instructions  which  Swanson  had  given  me  to  de- 
liver, Jack  and  I  left  the  ship  in  company  with  the  riggers 
to  go  to  the  boarding-house  for  our  supper. 

I  was  on  very  good  terms  with  the  riggers,  especially  so 
with  the  boss.  Swanson  had  told  him  to  make  all  possible 
use  he  could  of  Jack  and  me  as  he  was  anxious  that  we 
should  learn  something  of  dismantling  and  re-rigging  the 
vessel,  and  it  certainly  was  a  fine  chance  and  we  bene- 
fitted  by  it  immensely. 

When  we  got  outside  the  dock  gate,  I  looked  back  and 
saw  the  three  mates  close  behind  us.  I  told  Mr.  Jones 
(the  rigger)  that  I  expected  they  were  up  to  some  mis- 
chief. "  Let  them  come.  I  guess  we  are  strong  enough 
to  take  care  of  them,"  said  Mr.  Jones. 

Nap  was  with  us,  but  some  distance  ahead.  He  was  in 
the  habit  of  leaving  us  behind  when  we  were  going  to  our 
meals,  but  we  didn't  mind  that  for  we  knew  that  he  would 
be  at  the  house  when  we  got  there.  When  we  arrived  at 
the  public  house  we  found  Nap  doing  stunts,  such  as  walk- 
ing on  his  hind  legs  and  turning  somersaults,  while  our 
former  cook,  now  Mr.  Johnson,  restaurant  keeper,  was 
occupied  in  telling  the  audience  about  the  great  amount  of 
patience  and  trouble  it  had  cost  him  to  train  Nap  to  his 
present  state  of  perfection.  The  musician  took  a  hand  in 
the  conversation  and  related  how  Napoleon  drove  a  whole 
German  crew  on  top  of  a  lumber  pile,  after  having  chewed 
up  the  cook  and  a  mate.  It  was  all  very  wonderful,  and 
Jack  was  called  upon  to  put  the  dog  through  a  few  more 
stunts,  which  were  greatly  appreciated,  and  several  rounds 
of  drinks  were  ordered,  while  the  proprietor  rubbed  his 
hands  in  high  glee  and  swore  that  he  had  offered  Jack  ten 
pounds  for  the  dog,  and  was  seriously  considering  to  raise 


YANKEE    SWANSON  321 

it  a  few  pounds  more  in  order  to  become  the  owner  of  such 
a  valuable  animal. 

"  Ten  pounds,"  said  Mr.  Johnson.  "  What  do  you  take 
him  for?  King  Oscar  offered  the  boy  fifty  pounds  for 
him,  and  that  was  long  before  I  started  in  to  train  him. 
Why,  man  alive,  that  dog  can  do  anything  except  eat  with 
a  knife  and  fork,  and  I  would  have  taught  him  that  too  if 
we  hadn't  lost  all  our  table-ware  in  a  hurricane  somewhere 
up  around  the  North  Pole."  Mr.  Johnson  then  settled 
down  with  a  crowd  of  admirers  around  him  and  started 
to  relate  his  and  Nap's  experience  with  the  beluga. 

The  proprietor  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder  in  a  friendly 
way  and  announced  that  supper  was  ready.  Mr.  Jones, 
Jack  and  I  went  into  the  dining-room,  and  the  proprietor 
and  his  wife  also  sat  down  to  the  same  table. 

The  proprietor  and  Mr.  Jones  engaged  in  conversation 
at  once,  and  by  their  talk  I  judged  they  were  friends  of 
long  standing.  The  proprietor  asked  how  long  it  would 
take  him  to  finish  the  Forsette  and  how  he  liked  the 
skipper. 

Jones  said  he  expected  to  finish  in  about  a  month  from 
the  time  he  started ;  and  as  for  the  skipper,  he  found  him 
to  be  the  squarest  man  he  had  ever  met.  He  has  given  me 
the  use  of  these  two  boys  without  charging  it  up  to  me, 
•with  the  understanding  that  I  teach  them  a  few  things. 
It  saves  me  at  least  one  man's  pay,  because  they  reeve  off 
all  the  gantlines  and  attend  to  the  spun-yarn  and  marline 
for  the  serving  mallets.  Altogether  the  boys  are  very  use- 
ful and  well  behaved  lads,  and  I  will  make  it  right  with 
them  when  we  have  finished. 

The  proprietor  had  nothing  but  what  was  good  to  say 
about  Swanson,  and  his  wife  said  that  she  had  never  en- 
joyed anything  as  much  as  our  little  stunts  at  dancing  and 
boxing,  all  due  to  the  splendid  tact  Captain  Swanson 
seemed  to  have  in  bringing  up  young  boys. 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

About  this  time  the  dessert  came  along  and  the  old  lady 
was  very  liberal  with  it.  Jack  and  I  got  double  portions, 
and  she  explained  that  she  always  made  it  a  point  to  give 
the  young  ones  plenty. 

Before  we  got  up  from  the  table  she  patted  us  on  our 
shoulders  and  told  us  that  she  had  a  few  select  friends 
coming  that  evening  and  she  had  promised  them  a  treat, 
which  was  this :  that  Jack  and  I  were  to  do  a  little  stunt 
with  the  gloves,  and  if  we  were  not  too  tired  to  wind  up 
with  a  dance  which  she  knew  her  friends  would  appreciate 
and,  of  course,  papa  (her  husband)  would  see  to  it  that  we 
were  not  doing  it  for  nothing.  Having  promised  to  do 
our  best  to  oblige  her,  Mr.  Jones  said  he  would  stay  be- 
cause Swanson  had  told  him  that  we  were  dandies  with 
the  gloves  and  he  was  a  bit  of  a  sport  himself. 

When  we  went  out  in  the  dining-room  we  found  the 
place  full  of  people,  and  among  them,  sitting  at  a  table, 
were  the  three  Yankee  mates  well  supplied  with  half-and- 
half.  The  musician  was  pulling  away  at  the  accordion  as 
if  his  life  depended  upon  the  amount  of  noise  he  could 
make,  and  several  half  drunken  British  sailors  were  danc- 
ing, or  at  least  trying  to. 

As  we  entered,  the  landlady  escorted  Jack  and  me  to  a 
table  where  were  seated  two  men  whom  I  found  out  after- 
ward were  the  proprietors  of  a  music  and  dance  hall. 
They  were  anxious  to  see  us  dance  as  they  were  on  the 
lookout  for  cheap  talent  for  their  place. 

Everything  passed  along  fine.  Jack  and  I  boxed  three 
rounds  and  were  greatly  applauded.  Having  rested  a  bit, 
the  musician  struck  up  one  of  our  favourite  dances  and 
Jack  and  I  went  to  it  with  a  will,  feeling  thoroughly  at 
home  with  the  crowd  which  was  full  of  fun  and  good- 
nature. 

The  dancing  having  come  to  an  end  for  the  evening  the 
proprietor  and  Mr.  Johnson  jumped  up  on  to  the  dancing 


YANKEE    SWANSON  323 

platform,  each  to  make  a  little  speech.  Shouting,  "  Hear, 
hear,"  and  stamping  his  foot,  quietness  was  restored,  and 
the  proprietor  gave  a  brief  outline  of  our  history.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  we  were  both  of  us  orphans  and  neither  of 
us  knew  where  we  originally  came  from.  However  that 
might  be  the  proprietor  thought  there  could  be  no  ques- 
tion but  that  we  were  British  of  some  sort,  because  no 
other  country  in  the  world  was  known  to  produce  boys  of 
our  calibre,  and  it  was  on  that  account  only  that  England 
was  all  powerful  everywhere.  Putting  all  these  facts  to- 
gether he  thought  that  inasmuch  as  we  boys  had  been  a 
source  of  entertainment  to  every  patron  of  his  place  for  a 
long  time  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  this  evening,  as  we 
had  come  up  to  every  expectation,  to  be  a  little  liberal 
when  the  hat  was  passed  around,  and  to  start  the  ball  roll- 
ing he  ordered  his  bartender  to  set  them  up  for  all  hands. 

He  then  introduced  Mr.  Johnson,  as  a  true-blue  Brit- 
isher of  the  old  school ;  a  gentleman  known  throughout  the 
whole  Empire  for  his  famous  cooking;  a  survivor  of  the 
Light  Brigade  and  the  Indian  Mutiny;  and  last  but  not 
least,  the  gentleman  who  so  gallantly  stood  by  the  now 
famous  skipper,  Yankee  Swanson,  and  sailed  the  dis- 
masted Forsette  into  port. 

The  crowd  cheered  as  Mr.  Johnson  came  to  the  front. 
When  order  was  restored,  he  began  by  saying  that  he  had 
intended  to  speak  in  behalf  of  the  boys  but  as  Mr.  Hop- 
kins had  said  practically  all  there  was  to  be  said  in  that 
respect,  he  would  confine  himself  to  making  a  few  remarks 
of  how  sadly  he  felt  that  circumstances  over  which  he  had 
no  control  had  interfered  with  his  purpose  of  bringing 
up  the  two  orphans,  whom  he  loved  almost  as  much  as  his 
wife,  in  a  Christian  way.  However,  he  felt  assured  that 
what  he  had  done  was  engraved  on  our  minds  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  could  not  but  feel  easy  about  the  future, 
and  wound  up  by  telling  his  audience  that  he  had  retired 


324  YANKEE    SWANSON 

from  the  sea  for  good  and  would  henceforth  be  counted 
as  one  of  them,  and  that  he  would  be  most  happy  to  see 
them  at  his  place  of  business  on  the  opening  night,  which 
would  take  place  next  Saturday. 

Mr.  Johnson  shouted  drinks  for  all  hands.  Business 
was  rushing  and  no  mistake.  Having  drunk  to  the  health 
and  prosperity  of  Mr.  Johnson,  the  musician  struck  up 
"  The  Blue  Danube,"  tables  and  chairs  were  crowded 
to  the  walls,  and  British  tars  and  their  ladies,  Mr.  John- 
son and  Mrs.  Hopkins,  and  in  fact  everybody  who  had  a 
leg  to  stand  on,  got  to  their  feet,  and  as  if  by  magic  be- 
came dancers.  The  dancing  did  not  finish  until  the  musi- 
cian, overcome  by  tobacco  smoke  and  perhaps  also  from 
having  indulged  too  freely  in  beer,  fell  off  his  seat  on  the 
platform  and  rolled  down  on  the  floor  among  the  dancers. 
The  accordion  was  put  out  of  commission  by  Mrs.  Hop- 
kins, who  accidentally  stepped  on  it. 

Mr.  Jones,  the  rigger,  took  my  cap,  Mrs.  Hopkins  took 
Jack's,  and  they  started  to  make  a  round  among  the  crowd, 
taking  up  a  collection  for  the  benefit  of  the  two  orphans. 
Everybody  in  the  place  responded,  ladies  included,  except 
the  three  Yankee  mates,  who  insulted  Mrs.  Hopkins  by 
demanding,  to  know  what  they  were  expected  to  pay  for. 
The  collection  amounted  to  three  pounds  and  a  few  shil- 
lings, which  were  turned  over  to  the  orphans,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  extra  shillings,  which  were  put  to  one  side 
to  pay  for  a  round  of  drinks. 

Mrs.  Hopkins  served  out  the  drinks  herself  and  every- 
body was  treated,  except  the  Yankee  mates,  who  had  re- 
fused to  contribute. 

Several  of  the  British  sailors  were  now  spoiling  for  a 
fight,  without  which  no  sailor's  entertainment  is  complete. 
They  commenced  casting  slurs  that  Yankees  as  a  rule 
were  the  meanest  of  all  sailors,  and  that  they  had  no  stand- 
ing anywhere;  that  it  ought  not  to  be  tolerated  to  have 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

them  in  their  midst  to  partake  of  true  British  hospitality 
when  they  were  too  mean  to  contribute  a  shilling  or  even 
sixpence  toward  a  good  cause. 

Mr.  Johnson  took  the  stand  once  more,  saying  that  the 
very  word  Yankee  was  offensive  to  him,  and  proposed  that 
the  three  mates  should  be  expelled  at  once  and  by  force 
if  necessary.  The  proposition  was  seconded  at  once  by 
several  men  laying  hands  on  the  mates,  and  as  they  showed 
fight  and  refused  to  leave,  our  entertainment  broke  up  in  a 
fight  that  only  ended  when  the  police  interfered  and  took 
the  three  Yankee  mates  off  to  jail. 

Having  thoroughly  enjoyed  this  little  entertainment, 
Jack,  Nap  and  I  took  ourselves  off  to  the  ship. 

Jack  and  I  were  busy  aloft  when  Swanson  came  back 
to  the  ship  next  morning,  and  for  that  reason  did  not  get 
a  chance  to  tell  him  about  the  entertainment  at  first-hand. 
Directly  he  came  over  the  rail  Mr.  Jones  engaged  him 
in  a  conversation,  and  to  judge  by  the  way  they  both 
laughed,  the  Yankee  mates'  little  picnic  was  undoubtedly 
the  topic. 

In  the  afternoon  Mr.  Jones  was  summoned  to  court 
and  had  to  appear  as  a  witness  against  the  mates.  They 
were  fined  five  pounds  apiece  for  battery  and  disturbing 
the  peace,  and  late  that  afternoon  they  returned  to  the 
ship  in  a  much  battered  condition.  Jack  and  I  met  them 
as  we  were  going  out  to  get  our  supper.  We  could  not 
keep  from  laughing  at  their  changed  appearance,  at  which 
they  took  offence  and  the  little  fellow  —  so-called  third 
officer  —  made  a  pass  at  Jack  as  we  met. 

Nap,  who  saw  this  hostile  action,  immediately  hooked 
on  to  the  little  fellow's  trousers,  and  did  not  let  up  until 
he  had  him  under  bare  poles.  The  other  two  mates 
started  to  interfere,  but  Nap  was  equal  to  the  occasion 
and  in  a  little  while  had  the  three  bucko-mates  scattered 
and  running  in  different  directions  as  if  their  lives  de~ 


326  YANKEE    SWANSON 

pended  on  speed  only,  amidst  the  laughter  from  the  crews 
of  the  different  vessels  moored  in  the  dock. 

On  January  5th  I  was  to  be  fourteen  years  old,  and  I 
told  Swanson  about  it.  He  told  me  to  see  the  rigger  and 
ask  him  if  he  could  spare  Jack  and  me,  and  if  he  could, 
we  might  have  the  day  to  ourselves.  The  rigger  was  de- 
lighted to  let  us  go,  and  after  breakfast  we  rigged  up  in 
our  very  best  intending  to  make  a  long  trip  out  in  the 
country.  As  we  expected  to  travel  on  foot,  we  took  Nap 
along  for  company  as  well  as  for  protection.  On  leaving 
the  ship  Swanson  gave  me  a  letter  which  he  told  me  to 
deliver  at  the  shipchandler's  where  he  did  his  business. 

The  shipchandler  knew  us  well.  He  used  to  come 
on  board  almost  daily,  and  being  of  a  jolly  disposition 
as  a  rule  would  have  something  to  say  to  us  boys,  gen- 
erally joshing  us  about  our  acting  up  town  —  those  are 
the  words  he  used  —  and  then  laughing  at  it  as  if  it  were 
a  huge  joke. 

He  tore  the  letter  open,  and  after  reading  it  he  said, 
"  Capt.  Swanson  informs  me  that  you,  Jack,  have  a  lot  of 
wood  you  would  like  to  dispose  of.  What  do  you  want  for 
it,  and  how  much  have  you  got  ?  " 

Jack  replied  that  about  half  of  what  he  did  have  was 
lost  in  the  gale,  but  as  yet  the  fore  peak  was  full. 

"  All  right,"  said  the  shipchandler,  "  I  will  look  into 
it,  and  you  shall  have  what  it  is  worth.  Get  it  all  on 
deck  to-morrow." 

As  we  started  to  leave,  the  shipchandler  handed  me  two 
letters.  One  bore  the  postmark  of  Grangemouth;  the 
other  one  was  from  grandpa.  I  was  for  going  back  to 
the  ship  to  read  them,  but  Jack  thought  it  would  afford  us 
great  amusement  to  spend  our  time  out  in  the  country 
reading  them.  I  put  the  letters  in  my  inside  pocket  and 
started  off  on  a  brisk  walk.  It  was  a  fine,  clear  day  and 
walking  was  good.  In  about  half  an  hour's  time  we  were 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

out  in  the  country.     Frogs  and  birds  were  plentiful  and 
Xap  had  the  time  of  his  life  chasing  them. 

We  passed  many  fine  farms  and  some  great  old  country 
places,  the  walls  of  which  were  overgrown  with  ivy.  As 
we  walked  along  I  explained  to  my  friend  what  my 
father's  place  looked  like,  and  compared  certain  things 
we  saw  with  what  he  would  find  at  home.  It  was  all  very 
fine,  he  thought,  and  expressed  a  wish  that  we  would  soon 
get  started  on  our  homeward  journey. 

"  I  was  just  thinking  about  the  wood  business,"  said 
Jack.  "  I  wonder  how  much  he  will  pay  me  for  that. 
I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  spend  it  all  in  buying  pretty 
things  for  grandpa  and  your  sisters  and  the  little  brother," 
calling  them  all  by  their  names  as  if  he  had  known  them 
his  whole  life.  "  Poor  old  Bengston ;  half  of  it  belongs 
to  him,"  remarked  Jack.  "  I  must  divide  with  him,  or 
he  will  think  me  an  ungrateful  boy  after  all  he  has  done 
for  me." 

We  walked  along  in  silence  for  a  long  time.  My  friend 
was  in  a  brown  study.  I  cast  my  eye  at  him  once  in  a 
while  trying  to  guess  what  he  was  thinking  of.  I  knew 
he  had  something  on  his  mind  he  wanted  to  unburden 
himself  of,  for  I  had  seen  him  in  that  state  many  times 
before.  To  break  the  silence  and  to  get  him  in  a  good 
humour  again  I  said  that  we  would  walk  until  twelve 
o'clock,  and  then  we  would  go  to  some  farmhouse  and  buy 
something  to  eat ;  then  we  could  start  back  in  time  to  get 
to  town  before  dark.  "  All  right,"  said  Jack,  and  taking 
out  his  tin  whistle  started  to  play  the  "  Marseillaise  "  with 
a  great  amount  of  energy.  The  pair  of  us  fell  into  time 
like  old  campaigners  and  kept  it  up  until  we  were  nearly 
exhausted.  We  sighted  a  nice  looking  farm  some  distance 
ahead,  and  as  our  prearranged  time  was  almost  up  we 
decided  to  make  that  place  our  turning  point.  As  we 
drew  nearer,  Jack  remarked  that  things  looked  familiar 


328  YANKEE    SWANSON 

to  Mm  and  seemed  to  think  that  he  had  been  there  before 
on  his  wanderings  through  England.  When  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  farm  Jack  assured  me  that  he  had 
been  at  the  farm  two  days  and  that  they  had  treated  him 
well.  He  also  thought  we  would  have  no  trouble  in  get- 
ting something  to  eat. 

The  first  man  we  spoke  to  was  an  old  fellow  who  was 
engaged  in  breaking  up  old  railroad  ties.  We  lifted  our 
caps  by  way  of  saluting  and  asked  if  we  could  buy  some- 
thing to  eat  at  the  farm.  "  You  are  foreigners.  What 
are  you  doing  in  this  part  of  the  country  ? "  asked  the  old 
man. 

Jack  answered  that  we  belonged  to  a  foreign  vessel  in 
port  and  had  come  out  just  to  have  a  holiday  and  to  see 
the  country. 

The  old  man  eyed  us  very  keenly  and  said,  pointing  his 
finger  at  Jack,  "  Have  you  not  been  here  before  ?  " 

Jack  answered  that  he  had. 

"  I  thought  so,"  said  the  old  man.  "  You  are  the  boy 
that  came  to  this  place  and  danced.  I'm  a  very  old  man, 
ninety-two  years  of  age,  but  my  memory  is  as  keen  as 
ever.  I  knew  you  the  moment  I  cast  my  eye  on  you." 

The  old  gentleman  was  very  tall  and  remarkably  erect 
for  a  man  of  his  years.  He  wore  an  old  military-looking 
cap,  and  I  thought  he  had  been  a  soldier  in  his  younger 
days.  He  was  a  most  inquisitive  old  fellow  and  asked 
all  sorts  of  questions,  until  Jack  and  I  could  not  keep 
ourselves  from  laughing.  He  seemed  very  much  inter- 
ested in  Jack  and  almost  demanded  to  know  where  he  had 
been  since  the  last  time  he  saw  him.  Jack  gave  him  the 
outlines  of  everything  that  had  transpired  and  when  he 
had  finished  the  old  man  said  that  he  believed  it  all.  "  I 
can  tell  by  looking  you  in  the  eye  that  you  have  told  the 
truth." 

Nap  walked  up  to  the  old  man  and  smelt  of  his  hands. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  329 

He  patted  him  on  the  head,  and  Nap  wagged  his  tail, 
evidently  sizing  him  up  to  be  a  gentleman. 

Jack  being  a  little  uneasy  about  answering  so  many- 
questions  decided  to  divert  the  old  man's  attention.  He  took 
out  his  whistle,  made  a  motion  with  his  hand  which  signi- 
fied, "  Nap,  get  up  on  your  hind  legs."  The  dog  did  so, 
and  then  Jack  started  to  play  the  "  Marseillaise,"  to  which 
Nap  kept  marching  until  Jack  finished  the  whole  piece. 

To  say  the  old  man  was  surprised  would  not  be  doing 
him  justice;  he  was  simply  amazed.  He  forgot  to  ask 
any  more  questions  for  quite  a  little  while,  and  we  thought 
he  had  finished  with  us  but  that  was  a  big  mistake. 

"  What  was  it  you  called  that  dog,  boy  ? "  asked  the 
old  man. 

"  Nap,  for  short,"  answered  Jack,  "  but  his  full  name, 
Christian,  sur,  and  title,  is  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the  Em- 
peror." 

"  Who  gave  him.  that  name,  and  what  was  the  object 
in  naming  a  dog  after  that  great  man  ?  "  Two  questions 
at  once ;  that  was  going  some,  I  thought,  and  the  old  man 
was  apparently  getting  impatient,  and  he  wanted  quick 
answers. 

Jack  told  him  that  I  had  named  the  dog,  and  that  my 
reason  for  doing  so  was  the  fact  that  my  grandfather  had 
served  for  a  number  of  years  in  Napoleon's  army.  This 
statement  created  more  surprise,  and  the  old  man  took 
hold  of  me  and  made  me  sit  down  beside  him  on  a  piece 
of  wood.  He  took  off  my  cap  and  felt  of  my  skull  like 
a  phrenologist ;  then,  as  though  doubtful  about  something, 
he  took  hold  of  my  ears  and  stared  me  in  the  eyes.  I  felt 
very  uncomfortable  and  turned  the  colours  of  a  rainbow. 
Jack  laughed,  and  Nap  was  a  little  uneasy;  in  fact,  he 
commenced  to  growl  a  bit  and  Jack  took  hold  of  his  collar 
for  fear  he  would  tackle  the  old  man.  After  a  while  he 
released  my  ears,  patted  me  on  the  head,  and  replaced  the 


330  YANKEE    SWANSON 

cap.  "  Was  jour  grandfather  at  Waterloo  ?  "  he  asked. 
I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  "  Was  he  wounded  ?  "  I 
told  him  yes.  "  So  was  I,"  and  taking  off  his  cap  he 
asked  me  to  feel  bis  skull.  I  could  feel  a  cut  almost 
across  the  whole  head.  "  That's  a  deep  one,"  I  said, 
"  much  bigger  than  my  grandfather's."  "  Marshal  Key 
did  that,"  said  the  old  man.  What  saved  us  from  any 
further  questioning  for  the  time  being  was  a  boy  and  a  girl 
with  school  books  in  their  hands. 

They  ran  up  to  the  old  man,  kissed  him  and  called  him 
grandpa.  He  said  to  them,  "  Look  here,  children,  this  is 
the  little  French  boy  that  danced  for  us  last  year.  Take 
him  and  his  friend  and  !N"apoleon  Bonaparte  to  the  house 
and  ask  your  mother  to  give  them  the  best  she  has  got." 

We  walked  off  together  and  the  old  man  resumed  cut- 
ting wood.  The  two  children  remembered  Jack  and 
wanted  to  know  if  he  would  give  them  a  dance  after  he 
had  had  something  to  eat.  Jack  said  it  was  late  and  we 
had  to  be  back  in  town  by  dark,  but  he  would  stretch  a 
point  and  try  to  do  something. 

The  mother  was  a  widow  and  almost  as  inquisitive  as 
the  old  man.  However,  she  hurried  up  and  gave  us  a  lot 
of  stuff  to  eat,  but  while  eating  she  continually  plied  us 
with  questions.  When  we  finished  I  took  out  my  purse 
to  pay  but  she  said  the  old  man  would  not  stand  for  taking 
anything  from  us,  but  if  we  liked  we  should  be  allowed  to 
make  her  two  children  a  present  of  six  pence  apiece,  which 
I  did,  and  the  children  thanked  us. 

We  were  anxious  to  be  off,  but  it  seemed  a  shame  to 
disappoint  the  children,  as  they  expected  Jack  to  do  some- 
thing in  the  way  of  dancing.  He  took  out  the  whistle, 
blew  a  little  piece  on  it  and  danced,  winding  up  by  turning 
a  corkscrew  somersault  to  their  great  amusement. 

We  said  good-bye  and  thanked  the  widow  for  her  kind- 
ness and  left.  When  outside  we  saw  the  old  warrior 


YANKEE    SWANSON  331 

coming  toward  the  house,  but  we  took  a  short  cut  and 
steered  clear  of  him  thinking  that  he  would  commence  over 
again  asking  questions. 

We  arrived  in  town  just  in  time  to  call  at  Mr.  Hopkins' 
for  our  supper.  He  wanted  us  to  do  our  usual  stunt,  but 
we  found  an  excuse  that  evening,  telling  him  about  the 
unread  mail  of  ours  that  had  already  been  neglected  a 
whole  day. 

Swanson  did  not  sleep  on  board,  as  the  carpenters  who 
were  repairing  the  after  house  had  gone  to  work  that 
morning  and  everything  was  topsy-turvy. 

We  were  not  allowed  to  have  a  lamp  burning  on  board, 
it  being  against  the  rules  of  the  port,  and  for  that  reason 
we  would  have  been  unable  to  peruse  our  mail  that  evening 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  dock  watchman,  who  allowed  us 
to  occupy  a  little  watchhouse  where  there  was  a  lamp 
burning.  The  letter  from  Grangemouth  was  from  Betsey 
Duncan.  She  began  by  saying  that  they  (meaning  the 
whole  Duncan  family)  had  been  very  anxious  about  the 
old  Forsette,  she  having  been  overdue  several  weeks. 
Then  how  happy  they  all  had  been  when  they  saw  in  the 
paper  that  the  vessel  had  arrived  at  the  Isle  of  Man. 
Finally  they  had  received  a  long  letter  from  Swanson  and 
a  little  one  from  Bengston,  wherein  they  were  made 
acquainted  with  our  hardships  and  the  gallant  behaviour 
of  the  cook.  The  captain  of  the  Sea  Lark  had  called  at 
their  house  and  related  how  Swanson  and  I  had  been  on 
board  their  vessel  off  the  Cape,  and  of  what  good  use  I 
had  made  of  her  school  books. 

She  thanked  us  in  a  nice  way  for  the  little  presents  we 
had  sent  her,  saying  that  she  would  ever  cherish  them,  not 
on  account  of  their  intrinsic  value,  but  for  the  fact  that 
they  had  come  from  the  little  pitch  boiler  on  the  bank  of 
the  Firth  of  Forth. 

She  concluded  by  saying  that  undoubtedly  she  would 


332  YANKEE    SWANSON 

never  write  to  me  again,  and  in  all  probability  we  would 
never  meet  any  more,  because  the  whole  Duncan  family 
were  busy  just  then  packing  up  getting  ready  to  leave 
Grangemouth  forever  to  take  passage  probably  to  Aus- 
tralia. Poor  little  Betsey,  she  was  sorry  to  leave  bonny 
Scotland,  but  she  had  no  idea  that  the  world  is  really  as 
small  as  it  is. 

We  met  again,  all  right,  about  eight  years  afterward  and 
under  most  singular  circumstances,  but  I  shall  say  no 
more  about  that  at  present.  It  would  require  many  pages 
to  do  so,  and  I  am  anxious  to  get  to  the  end  of  my  first 
journey,  or  voyage  rather,  and  it  seems  as  though  I  had  a 
long  road  to  travel  yet. 

I  then  opened  grandpa's  letter.  While  lying  at  anchor 
off  Newport  I  had  written  the  old  man  a  detailed  account 
of  the  whole  passage,  which  also  made  him  acquainted 
with  the  funny  feeling  and  weak  heart  I  had  experienced 
on  a  certain  day,  and  this  letter  I  now  opened  was  an 
answer  to  it.  The  old  man  went  on  to  say  that  when  he 
read  my  letter  and  came  to  that  part  relating  this  funny 
feeling  the  letter  dropped  out  of  his  hand  and  grandma 
thought  he  had  fainted  away.  He  was  most  terribly  dis- 
appointed with  my  behaviour  and  was  on  the  point  of  tell- 
ing his  wife  to  put  the  letter  in  the  fire,  being  afraid  it 
would  contain  more  disappointments.  Happily  for  us 
both  he  continued  and  found  that  this  strange  feeling  had 
only  been  momentary,  and  besides,  my  friend  had  con- 
fessed to  similar  symptoms,  although  they  had  been  less 
violent  with  him. 

The  old  man  having  finished  my  letter,  felt  much  re- 
lieved and  sat  down  to  a  quiet  smoke,  the  while  thinking 
over  past  occurrences,  and  to  his  horror  had  discovered 
that  he  had  been  similarly  affected  not  once  but  on  three 
different  occasions.  He  now  smiled  at  his  folly,  to  think 
that  any  young  fellow,  no  matter  of  what  stuff  he  was 


YANKEE    SWANSON  S33 

made  of,  could  stand  up  to  a  hot  fire,  as  he  called  it,  with- 
out being  affected  in  some  way.  "  Of  course  everybody 
is  not  affected  in  the  same  way,"  he  said.  He  himself,  as 
far  as  legs  were  concerned,  had  been  affected  entirely  dif- 
ferent; it  had  rather  acted  as  a  stimulant  to  them.  In 
short,  the  legs  absolutely  refused  to  obey  orders  directed 
from  the  heart,  and  were  inclined  to  run  away,  and  it  had 
been  with  the  greatest  effort  on  his  part,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Emperor,  that  had  compelled  them  to  remain 
on  the  battlefield. 

This  leg  question  having  been  settled  to  his  entire  satis- 
faction, he  took  up  the  matter  of  us  boys  coming  home 
soon.  He  had  built  a  fine  dog  kennel  which  had  cost  him 
a  lot  of  labour  on  account  of  the  tools  being  in  such  awful 
condition. 

It  appeared  my  younger  brother  was  getting  worse  in- 
stead of  improving,  as  far  as  handling  the  grindstone  was 
concerned,  but  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  Nap  was 
too  good  a  dog  to  occupy  Blucher's  home,  and  for  that 
reason  he  had  gone  to  work  regardless  of  the  condition  of 
the  tools. 

He  also  had  gone  to  a  lot  of  expense  fitting  up  Jack's 
room.  He  had  got  a  brand-new  feather  bed  and  grandma 
had  covered  the  floor  with  her  best  homemade  carpet. 

Another  item  of  great  importance  was  this:  He  had 
made  arrangements  that  Jack  was  to  go  to  school  for  two 
years,  and  he  wished  me  to  inform  him  that  the  work  he 
would  expect  him  to  do  would  not  be  hard  as  he  had  sold 
one  cow  and  would  only  keep  one  in  the  future,  it  being 
sufficient  for  the  three. 

The  old  man  seemed  very  much  surprised  that  I  did  not 
get  lousy  in  Russia,  and  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
Russians  had  taken  to  washing  themselves  of  late.  Such 
things  had  never  been  heard  of  when  he  was  in  Moscow. 

Wishing  to  be  remembered  to  Mr.  Swanson,  he  con- 


834.  YANKEE    SWANSON 

eluded  by  saying  that  he  would  be  looking  for  us  not  later 
than  March  first. 

I  read  this  letter  in  a  loud  voice  and  noticed  the  effect 
it  had  on  my  friend.  The  colour  on  his  face  was  changing 
like  passing  clouds.  He  now  told  me  what  had  been  on 
his  mind  when  we  were  walking  along  in  the  country  that 
day.  He  seemed  to  be  in  doubts  if  it  really  was  a  good 
plan  for  him  to  go  home  with  me,  thinking  that  I  perhaps 
was  promising  more  than  the  old  man  would  stand  for  and 
that  at  the  final  show-down  the  castles  we  had  built  would 
tumble  over  like  cardboard. 

However,  this  last  letter  reassured  him,  and  all  doubts 
were  cast  to  the  four  winds.  In  the  morning  we  turned 
to,  as  usual,  with  the  riggers.  When  Swanson  came  on 
board  Jack  informed  him  of  what  the  shipchandler  had 
said  about  the  wood.  Swanson  told  him  to  get  it  up  at 
once,  which  he  did,  and  during  the  day  the  shipchandler 
came  on  board,  paid  for  it  and  took  it  away. 

Swanson  took  pleasure  in  watching  Jack  get  his  wood 
up  that  day.  Jack  had  gone  on  shore  and  engaged  half 
a  dozen  boys  to  assist  him  to  get  the  wood  out  of  the  fore- 
peak.  Their  pay  agreed  upon  was  two  shillings  apiece. 
The  fellows  worked  like  beavers.  Jack  bossed  the  job, 
and  in  the  evening  when  he  paid  them  off  in  his  den  he 
gave  them  an  extra  sixpence  apiece,  thinking  he  could  well 
afford  it  inasmuch  as  the  shipchandler  had  paid  him  five 
pounds  for  the  wood. 

The  little  fellows  were  tickled  with  their  good  fortune. 
They  went  away  happy,  saying  that  Jack  was  the  best 
boss  they  had  ever  worked  for  and  only  wished  there  were 
more  like  him. 

Jack  wanted  to  turn  over  half  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
wood  deal  to  Swanson,  to  be  delivered  to  Captain  Bengston 
on  our  return  home,  but  Swanson  told  Jack  that  it  was 
Bengston's  order  that  Jack  should  have  it  all,  for  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON  335 

reason  that  he  had  sailed  some  time  on  the  vessel  before 
he  went  on  the  payroll. 

On  the  last  day  of  January  the  riggers  were  through, 
and  the  carpenters  were  putting  the  finishing  touches  on 
the  new  deck-houses.  The  Forsette  looked  almost  like  a 
new  vessel,  and  was  in  a  better  condition  than  she  had  been 
since  the  day  she  left  the  shipyard  new,  some  twenty-five 
years  before. 

Swanson  received  orders  to  take  the  vessel  to  Cardiff  to 
take  on  a  load  of  coal  for  Copenhagen.  This  was  a  little 
disappointing.  We  had  fully  expected  to  load  for  our 
place,  but  it  did  not  matter  much,  anyhow;  it  was  only  a 
day's  journey  from  Copenhagen  to  home,  and  besides,  we 
would  have  a  chance  to  visit  that  beautiful  place. 

That  part  of  it  having  been  settled,  we  were  all  anxious 
to  get  away.  Jack  having  informed  Swanson  that  he  in- 
tended to  spend  the  whole  five  pounds  in  buying  presents 
for  every  member  of  my  family,  he  told  the  boy  that  he 
would  get  somebody  to  go  with  him  who  understood  what 
to  buy. 

Swanson  had  told  the  shipchandler  and  his  wife  about 
this  strange  boy  and  all  the  circumstances  in  connection 
with  his  coming  on  board  the  Forsette,  and  they  were 
interested  and  wished  him  all  the  good  luck  one 
person  could  wish  another.  And  so  it  came  about  that 
one  day  Mrs.  Shipchandler,  Jack,  and  ISTapoleon  went 
out  shopping.  They  came  back  late  in  the  afternoon 
loaded  down  with  bundles,  and  Nap  had  on  a  new 
collar. 

The  vessel  was  to  be  towed  to  Cardiff  and  there  Swan- 
son  would  ship  his  crew.  Herald  would  join  us  as  first 
mate,  having  fully  recovered  after  having  been  two  months 
in  the  hospital. 

Mr.  Johnson,  our  former  cook,  and  Mrs.'  Johnson  came 
on  board  the  Forsette  one  afternoon  to  pay  us  a  friendly 


336  YANKEE    SWANSON 

call  as  well  as  to  bid  us  good-bye.  Captain  Swanson  en- 
tertained them  in  a  most  friendly  way,  sending  me  out  to 
get  a  bottle  of  wine  and  some  cake.  Swanson  asked  the 
cook  how  married  life  agreed  with  him,  and  the  cook  de- 
clared that  if  he  had  only  known  what  a  lot  of  bliss  and 
happiness  constituted  married  life  he  would  have  married 
Mrs.  Johnson  twenty  years  ago.  "  Yes,  sir.  No  more 
salt  water  for  this  chicken,"  said  Johnson.  "  I  have  every- 
thing I  want,  and  a  good  wife  is  as  handy  as  a  button  on  a 
shirt,"  and  to  illustrate  what  he  meant  he  embraced  his 
wife,  kissed  her,  and  pulled  out  a  hairpin  with  which  he 
started  to  clear  his  ears,  making  an  awful  wry  face  during 
the  operation,  and  remarked,  "  See  that  captain,  a  plaee 
for  everything  and  everything  in  its  place,"  and  put  the 
hairpin  back  where  he  had  taken  it  from. 

Mr.  Jones,  the  rigger,  having  finished  up  to  Swanson's 
entire  satisfaction,  proposed  that  Jack  and  I  should  have 
a  pound  apiece  for  the  assistance  we  had  rendered.  Swan- 
son  agreed  to  that  willingly,  but  said  he  would  pay  us  that 
money  in  Copenhagen  as  we  already  had  spent  a  good  deal 
of  money  at  Bridgewater,  and  he  did  not  approve  of  boys 
being  too  flush  with  money. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hopkins  gave  us  a  fine  supper,  the  last 
one  we  had  with  them,  the  evening  before  we  left.  They 
said  they  wished  there  were  more  boys  like  us.  We  had 
deported  ourselves  so  well  they  were  real  sorry  we  were 
leaving.  We  never  as  much  as  kicked  about  the  grub,  like 
some  ungrateful  sailors  did. 

After  supper  we  prolonged  our  stay  an  hour  or  so,  Jack 
putting  ISTap  through  a  series  of  stunts.  We  also  danced 
a  final  jig.  Then  came  the  all  round  handshaking, 
after  which  we  left  and  took  a  walk  through  the  town 
before  going  on  board. 

In  the  morning  a  crew  of  sailors  came  on  board,  and  we 
hauled  the  vessel  down  to  the  dock  gate.  At  high  tide 


YANKEE    SWANSON  337 

they  opened  the  gate  and  \ve  passed  out  in  a  basin  where 
the  tug  took  hold  of  us. 

By  noon  we  were  on  our  way  to  Cardiff,  and  some  time 
during  the  night  we  anchored  off  that  port. 

Swanson  went  on  shore  with  the  tugboat,  leaving  Jack 
and  me  in  charge,  besides  a  watchman  and  Nap. 

Early  the  following  morning  the  tug,  with  Swanson  and 
a  gang  of  men,  came  off  to  the  ship.  We  hove  up  anchor 
and  proceeded  in  tow  right  in  to  the  dock  and  moored 
under  the  coal  chute.  While  loading  the  stores  came  on 
board,  and  Herald,  who  joined  us  just  after  having  moored, 
with  six  sailors  and  a  cook,  went  to  work  and  took  charge 
of  them. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  cargo  was  all  on 
board,  and  the  same  tug  that  towed  us  in  took  us  out  again 
and  anchored  us  in  the  roads,  some  distance  from  the 
town. 

Swanson  went  on  shore  with  the  tug,  giving  instructions 
to  bend  all  sails  the  following  morning  and  have  everything 
ready  for  going  to  sea  in  the  evening  if  the  wind  should  be 
fair. 

We  were  still  short  a  second  mate,  men  not  being 
anxious  to  go  across  the  North  Sea  at  that  time  of  the 
year.  However,  Swanson  decided  to  stand  a  watch  him- 
self rather  than  delay  getting  awray. 

The  sailors  were  all  Swedes,  men  who  had  sailed  in 
English  and  American  vessels,  and  some  of  them  had  not 
been  home  for  many  years. 

One  fellow  fifty-five  years  old,  had  been  shipmate  with 
Swanson  two  voyages  to  San  Francisco,  and  having  met 
Swanson  on  the  street  in  Cardiff  he  struck  him  for  a  job, 
thinking  it  would  be  a  good  opportunity  to  see  his  old 
home  once  more,  and  he  would  also  make  a  few  shillings 
instead  of  having  to  pay  his  passage. 

We  turned  to  early  the  following  morning.     Herald 


538  YANKEE    SWANSON 

gave  Jack  and  me  a  gantline  each,  which  we  rove  off  while 
the  men  got  the  sails  out  of  the  locker.  That  done,  we 
hoisted  them  all  up,  beginning  with  the  royals  and  finish- 
ing with  the  courses.  Then  all  hands  laid  aloft,  one  watch 
on  each  top  and  bent  them.  All  the  running  gear  was 
rove  off  new  —  most  of  it  was  Manila  rope,  soft  and  easy 
to  handle  as  compared  with  the  Russian  hemp  rope  we  had 
been  accustomed  to. 

Captain  Swanson  had  made  some  little  alteration  in  the 
cabin.  The  den  had  been  enlarged  considerably  and  two 
bunks  were  fitted  in  so  that  Jack  and  I  could  have  a  bunk 
each,  and  I  would  not  be  compelled  to  live  forward  among 
the  new  men.  It  was  very  considerate  of  Swanson  to  do 
this,  because  the  new  sailors  were  a  rough  lot  and  he 
thought  I  would  be  most  uncomfortable  among  them. 

At  noon  we  had  everything  aloft  and  bent,  the  running 
gear  coiled  down  snug  and  all  hands  were  sent  to  dinner. 

After  dinner  we  turned  to  and  washed  her  down.  This 
in  itself  was  quite  a  job,  because  she  was  smothered  with 
coal  dust  fore  and  aft.  After  that  our  spare  spars  were 
lashed  and  dozens  of  other  jobs  had  to  be  looked  after  be- 
fore we  could  say  we  were  ready  for  sea. 

The  last  job  Jack  and  I  did  was  to  grease  down  the 
masts,  and  when  that  was  finished  we  were  through  for  the 
day.  We  were  thoroughly  tired  out  and  did  not  feel  much 
like  taking  a  wash,  although  we  stood  greatly  in  need  of  it. 

Herald  told  us  that  it  was  Swanson' s  orders  that  Jack 
and  I  should  eat  with  the  cook  in  the  cabin  after  the  cap- 
tain and  mate  had  finished.  Jack  had,  of  course,  done  so 
right  along,  but  now  that  I  had  quarters  there  it  would  be 
my  privilege  also.  I  was  glad  of  that,  as  I  would  not  be 
subjected  to  a  lot  of  questions  as  I  otherwise  would  have 
been  —  something  that  is  very  disagreeable  to  a  beginner, 
more  so  if  he  happens  to  be  liked  by  the  officers. 

O:ur  cook  seemed  to  be  a  real  nice  fellow,  but  somehow  or 


YANKEE    SWANSON  339 

other  my  friend  and  I  missed  the  old  one  a  great  deal.  It 
seemed  as  if  we  had  lost  something  that  could  not  be  re- 
placed, and  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  re- 
member that  we  could  never  pass  his  galley  door  or  meet 
him  on  deck  at  any  time  'of  the  day  but  he  would  button- 
hole us,  and  tell  a  tale  of  some  sort  that  would  make  us 
laugh  although  of  course  it  was  nothing  but  a  lot  of  lies. 

Anchor  watch  was  set  for  the  night  at  eight  o'clock :  one 
hour  each.  I  had  the  first  hour  from  eight  to  nine  and 
Jack  was  next.  Herald  left  word  to  be  called  if  there  was 
any  sign  of  a  tug  coming  off,  but  no  tug  came  off  that 
night. 

At  midnight  it  started  to  blow  from  the  westward  and 
by  daylight  it  was  a  howling  gale.  We  were  called  out  to 
brace  up  the  yards,  and  gave  her  sixty  fathom  of  chain  to 
the  hawse.  We  also  had  to  steer  her  as  if  we  had  been 
under  weigh  owing  to  the  strong  current  and  wind.  At 
times  when  the  current  and  the  wind  combined  took  her  on 
one  bow  or  the  other  she  would  sheer  off  half  a  dozen  points 
and  bring  up  on  the  chain  across  the  stem  with  such  a  force 
it  made  the  old  craft  quiver. 

When  daylight  came  on  it  was  real  bad  weather  and  a 
heavy  sea  was  running.  Several  of  the  vessels  had  dragged 
their  anchors  a  considerable  distance.  We  gave  a  little 
more  chain  and  put  over  the  other  bower  ready  to  let  go. 
Herald  sent  us  aloft  to  put  on  the  chafing  gear  on  shrouds 
and  backstays,  and  he  kept  everybody  well  employed 
throughout  the  day. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  wind  seemed  to  moderate  a 
little,  but  no  tugboat  came  out.  However,  we  manned  the 
windlass  and  hove  in  to  forty  fathom  at  the  hawse,  think- 
ing that  perhaps  Swanson  would  come  off  during  the  night 
and  give  orders  to  get  under  weigh. 

The  wind  was  still  from  out  the  west  the  following 
morning,  but  it  was  fine,  clear  weather,  and  it  looked  as  if 


340  YANKEE    SWANSON 

it  had  settled  down  to  be  fine,  and  the  prospect  looked  good 
for  getting  under  weigh,  especially  so  if  the  wind  should 
happen  to  change  to  a  more  favourable  quarter. 

Just  after  breakfast  a  tug  came  out  from  Cardiff  with 
a  vessel  in  tow,  which  turned  out  to  be  the  American 
barque  Frolic,  Captain  Bully  Higginson.  She  anchored 
close  to  the  Forsette. 

Herald  had  nothing  in  particular  for  us  to  do,  as  every- 
thing was  ready  for  going  to  sea.  We  were  merely  stand- 
ing by  and  for  that  reason  we  had  a  splendid  opportunity 
to  observe  what  was  going  on  on  board  the  Frolic.  It  was 
very  interesting,  indeed,  and  gave  me  an  idea  of  what  I 
could  expect  to  get  if  I  should  ever  be  so  unfortunate  as 
to  sail  on  one  of  those  knock-down  and  drag-out  Yankee 
packets  I  had  heard  our  old  cook  relate  so  much  about.  I 
found  that  what  he  had  told  me  about  them  was  not  all 
lies.  There  certainly  were  some  knock-downs  that  day, 
and  I  was  an  eyewitness  to  several. 

The  little  fellow,  so-called  third  officer,  was  very  much 
in  evidence.  He  was  on  the  poop  alongside  of  the  mate, 
repeating  the  mate's  orders  to  the  men  aloft,  who  were 
bending  the  sails,  and  every  order  was  accompanied  with 
a  string  of  oaths  that  would  have  made  a  London  cabman 
blush. 

Bully  Higginson  and  wife  were  still  on  shore.  I  guess 
it  was  prearranged  that  they  should  not  come  off  until  the 
new  crew  had  been  put  through  a  little  training  which 
would  fit  them  for  such  company  as  Captain  Higginson  and 
wife. 

The  first  officer  of  the  Frolic  had  a  grudge  against  Jack 
and  me  on  account  of  the  treatment  they  had  received  at  the 
public  house,  and  also  because  ISTap  made  such  a  show  of 
them  on  the  dock.  Between  swearing  and  beating  his  men 
that  day  he  would  now  and  again  shake  his  fist  at  our  ship 
and  curse  us.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  point  a  revolver  at 


YANKEE    SWANSON  S41 

us  and  bellow  out  several  times,  loud  enough  for  us  to 
hear,  that  Higginson  would  fix  Yankee  Swanson  in  Cardiff 
before  he  went  to  sea,  full  and  plenty. 

I  was  standing  alongside  of  Herald  when  the  American 
mate  shouted  this  last  threat.  He  asked  me  if  I  under- 
stood what  he  said.  I  told  him  I  did,  and  what  was  more, 
I  believed  that  there  was  some  truth  in  it ;  if  not,  why  did 
not  Swanson  come  off  ?  The  weather  was  fine  and  every- 
thing was  in  readiness  for  going  to  sea.  Herald  shook  his 
head  as  if  loath  to  believe  it,  he,  of  course,  not  knowing 
anything  about  the  mates  of  the  vessel  nor  the  captain.  I 
started  to  relate  to  him  everything  that  had  transpired 
while  at  Bridgewater.  He  thought  it  all  over  seriously 
and  remarked  that  perhaps  there  was  some  truth  in  what 
the  mate  had  shouted  to  us. 

Night  came  on  again,  but  no  tug  and  no  Swanson,  and 
what  made  matters  look  still  more  as  though  something  had 
happened,  was  the  fact  that  the  wind  was  now  fair,  and  it 
would  have  been  a  fine  chance  to  get  out  of  the  Bristol 
Channel. 

Just  about  noon  the  following  day  a  tug  came  out  from 
Cardiff,  and  as  it  drew  near  it  looked  as  if  it  was  going 
alongside  the  Frolic,  but  suddenly  the  course  was  changed 
and  it  came  alongside  the  Forsette.  Captain  Swanson  was 
on  the  bridge  with  the  tugboat  captain,  as  were  also  two 
police  officers.  Swanson  looked  no  different  than  he  had 
the  day  he  left  us ;  if  changed  at  all  it  was  for  the  better, 
because  he  seemed  quite  chatty  and  shouted  out  to  Herald, 
asking  him  if  everything  was  ready  for  heaving  up. 
Swanson  climbed  on  board  and  so  did  the  two  officers. 
After  shaking  hands  with  Herald  they  walked  aft  and  went 
into  the  cabin. 

Mrs.  Higginson  made  her  appearance  in  a  doorway  on 
board  the  tug,  but  nothing  could  be  seen  of  her  husband. 
Our  sailors,  who  all  spoke  English,  got  to  yarning  with  the 


YANKEE    SWANSON 

crew  of  the  tug  and  we  found  out  what  had  caused  the 
delay.  Higginson  and  Swanson  had  met  in  a  shipchan- 
dler  store  and  there,  in  the  presence  of  several  witnesses, 
Higginson  had  insulted  Swanson  and  demanded  some 
recompense  for  his  mates  who  had  been  set  upon  by  the 
dog,  ]^ap,  and  their  clothes  torn  to  pieces.  Swanson  re- 
plied that  the  dog  did  not  belong  to  him,  and  besides,  the 
mates  had  been  to  blame  themselves;  therefore,  he  could 
not  think  of  recompensing.  This  made  Higginson  very 
angry  and  he  commenced  to  call  Swanson  names. 

Swanson,  being  quick  to  anger,  hung  back  on  this  occa- 
sion, on  account  of  Mrs.  Higginson,  and  tried  his  best  to 
keep  out  of  trouble,  but  it  only  made  Higginson  more 
abusive,  still  thinking  that  Swanson  was  afraid  of  him. 
He  then  threatened  to  shoot  Swanson  if  he  did  not  come 
out  and  fight  and  reached  for  his  hip  pocket. 

The  shipchandler  and  another  man  interfered  and  dis- 
armed Higginson,  after  which  Swanson,  seeing  that  there 
was  no  other  way  of  getting  clear  of  an  ugly  customer, 
accepted  the  challenge  to  fight  it  out  to  a  finish.  They  re- 
paired to  a  spare  storeroom,  where  they  disrobed  them- 
selves of  all  superfluous  clothing. 

Captain  Higginson  was  not  the  fighter  to  make  any 
sort  of  showing  pitted  against  a  man  like  Yankee  Swan- 
son.  Deprived  of  his  gun,  which  he  undoubtedly  had 
relied  on  to  finish  Swanson,  he  was  like  a  child  standing 
up  to  an  old  campaigner  of  Swanson's  calibre. 

The  fight  did  not  last  long,  but,  short  as  it  was,  Higgin- 
son was  beyond  recognition  at  the  finish.  The  shipchan- 
dler expressed  his  doubts  as  to  whether  he  would  ever  come 
to  again,  and  a  doctor  was  sent  for.  The  doctor  applied 
some  restoratives  which  finally  brought  him  to. 

In  the  meantime,  Mrs.  Higginson  having  been  told  by 
the  shipchandler  about  the  outcome  of  the  fight,  decided 
to  make  more  trouble  for  Swanson,  and  went  to  the  Ameri- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  348 

can  consul,  telling  him  her  husband  had  been  all  "but  killed 
by  a  ruffian  Swede.  The  consul  and  Mrs.  Higginson,  ac- 
companied by  two  police  officers,  arrived  at  the  shipchan- 
dler's  just  as  the  doctor  had  finished  patching  up  Bully 
Higginson. 

Higginson,  now  able  to  talk,  turned  out  to  be  as  big  a 
liar  and  coward  as  he  was  a  bully  and  poor  fighter.  He 
put  all  the  blame  of  the  row  on  to  Swanson,  and  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginson backed  him  up  in  every  detail.  Everybody  who 
had  been  an  eyewitness  or  knew  anything  about  the  case 
was  put  under  arrest  and  marched  off  to  jail.  The  Ameri- 
can consul  went  bail  for  Higginson  and  wife,  while  the 
shipchandler  went  his  own  and  Swanson's  bail. 

The  trial  came  off  the  following  morning.  Higginson 
was  fined  five  pounds  for  carrying  a  gun,  five  pounds  for 
threatening  to  use  it,  and  five  pounds  for  having  caused 
delay  to  the  sailing  of  the  Swedish  vessel  Forsette.  And 
to  still  more  humiliate  Higginson,  the  judge  demanded  that 
he  should  stand  good  for  the  expense  of  seeing  Swanson  on 
board  his  vessel,  which  was  ready  to  sail,  and  accordingly, 
two  police  officers  were  sent  along  on  the  tugboat  to  keep 
peace  between  the  captains. 

Such  was  the  story  we  gained  from  the  crew  of  the 
tugboat.  I  heard  it  afterward  from  Swanson  himself,  and 
it  was  substantially  the  same,  with  the  one  exception  that 
Mrs.  Higginson,  after  they  came  out  of  the  courtroom, 
roundly  abused  her  husband  for  not  having  killed  Swan- 
son. 

Swanson  having  treated  the  police  officers,  they  boarded 
the  tug,  wishing  us  a  fine  passage.  The .  tug  blew  her 
whistle  and  sheered  off  to  deliver  the  much  battered  Hig- 
ginson and  his  wife  to  the  gentle  care  of  his  three  ferocious 
mates,  who  were  at  the  gangway  to  receive  them. 

We  had  no  time  to  observe  what  sort  of  reception  the 
captain  received,  because  as  soon  as  the  tug  left,  Herald 


344  YANKEE    SWANSON 

gave  orders  to  man  the  windlass,  which  we  did  with  a  will, 
thinking  that  the  next  time  we  made  use  of  the  anchor  it 
would  be  at  Copenhagen,  and  within  a  few  hours'  journey 
from  home.  Our  new  crew  struck  up  the  popular  chantey, 
"  We  are  bound  for  the  Rio  Grande."  The  chain  came  in 
at  a  lively  rate,  and  presently  Jack  and  I  were  told  to  lay 
aloft  to  loose  the  topsails. 

The  ship  was  tiderode  when  we  started  heaving,  but  the 
wind  being  a  moderate  breeze  and  blowing  right  in  the 
stern,  almost  counteracted  the  force  of  the  tide,  and  in  a 
very  short  time  we  had  the  anchor  up  and  down.  We 
sheeted  home  the  lower  topsails,  then  broke  out  the  anchor, 
and  the  old  Forsette  commenced  to  gather  headway  home- 
wardbound,  thank  God. 

We  were  still  heaving  when  we  passed  very  gracefully 
under  the  Frolic's  stern,  Swanson  steering  as  close  as  he 
possibly  could,  to  bid  his  friends  a  pleasant  voyage  and 
exchange  a  few  little  pleasantries  so  dear  to  a  sailor's  heart. 
Higginson  was  not  in  sight,  but  his  ferocious  first  officer, 
with  the  horseshoe  moustache,  and  Mrs.  Higginson  were  on 
the  poop.  The  crew  were  on  the  gallant  fo'cs-'le  heaving 
up  anchor,  and  the  tug  with  the  police  officers  on  board 
were  still  alongside  of  her. 

"  Good-bye,  Captain  Higginson,"  shouted  Swanson,  and 
to  Mrs.  Higginson,  "  Pleasant  voyage  and  many  of  them. 
How  is  your  old  man  ?  Remember  me  to  him.  I  will  tell 
them  in  Copenhagen  that  you  are  coming." 

The  ferocious  mate  took  out  an  iron  belaying  pin  and 
undoubtedly  would  have  thrown  it  at  Swanson  if  the 
police  officers  had  not  been  on  board.  The  madam  used 
some  very  select  language  for  Swanson's  benefit,  until  we 
were  out  of  hearing ;  and  taking  it  all  in  all,  we  left  Car- 
diff roads  under  the  most  unfavourable  conditions,  as  far 
as  well  wishes  were  concerned. 

We  catted  our  anchor  and  set  everything  that  would 


YANKEE    SWANSON  345 

draw  the  wind,  being  easterly  and  right  in  the  stern.  The 
following  morning  we  were  well  out  in  the  channel. 
Lundy  Island  was  in  sight  ahead.  The  wind  was  still 
fair,  but  gradually  drawing  abeam,  and  it  looked  as  if  it 
would  come  out  from  the  westward  soon,  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  sky.  We  were  in  company  of  about  a  dozen 
vessels,  mostly  British  coasters,  coal  laden,  but  the  Frolic 
was  not  far  astern  of  us  with  everything  to  the  skysails 
set,  her  white  cotton-duck  sails  giving  her  a  beautiful  ap- 
pearance and  causing  a  contrast  quite  noticeable,  sur- 
rounded as  she  was  by  colliers  with  their  dirty  hempsails 
and  otherwise  slipshod  tophamper. 

When  within  a  few  miles  of  Lundy  Island  Lighthouse 
the  wind  came  out  from  the  westward  all  of  a  sudden. 
The  Forsette,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  vessels  in  the 
immediate  locality,  were  caught  aback.  We  swung  our 
foreyards  to  put  the  Forsette  on  the  starboard  tack,  and 
while  so  doing  we  gathered  considerable  sternway  and 
came  within  a  few  yards  of  getting  on  top  of  the  Frolic, 
which  was  being  manoeuvred  to  go  on  the  port  tack.  It 
was  a  lucky  thing  that  all  hands  were  on  deck  about  that 
time.  It  saved  us  from  having  a  collision.  By  rounding 
in  the  main  braces  quickly  she  commenced  to  gather  head- 
way and  cleared  the  Frolic  by  a  very  narrow  margin,  so 
narrow  that  Swanson  got  the  full  benefit  of  Bully  Higgin- 
son's  abuse,  powerfully  backed  up  by  Mrs.  Higginson  and 
the  three  mates,  who  apparently  had  armed  themselves  with 
capstanbars  and  other  deadly  weapons,  and  were  lined  up 
on  the  poop  ready  to  repel  boarders. 

Swanson,  who  had  taken  the  wheel  himself,  having  sent 
the  sailor  away  to  assist  in  getting  the  yards  around,  nar- 
rowly escaped  a  belaying  pin  flung  at  him  by  Higginson. 
He  had  no  time  to  retaliate,  being  so  occupied  in  getting 
the  Forsette  out  of  danger ;  but  when  once  clear,  Swanson 
seemed  amused  with  the  whole  thing,  and  when  Herald 


846  YANKEE    SWANSON 

came  aft  to  report  that  everything  was  ready  for  about 
ship,  they  commenced  to  talk  over  what  had  just  occurred 
and  both  of  them  burst  out  laughing,  and  it  looked  as  if 
they  were  scheming  some  surprise  for  Captain  Higginson. 

Swanson  told  me  to  bring  out  a  little  brass  cannon  we 
had  stowed  away  in  the  lazaret.  It  was  a  miniature 
Long  Tom,  Captain  Bengston's  private  property.  It  was 
mounted  on  a  wooden  carriage  and  must  have  weighed 
considerably.  At  any  rate  it  weighed  too  much  for  me, 
and  Herald  came  down  to  assist  me  in  getting  it  out  to  the 
hatch,  where  we  bent  a  rope  on  it,  after  which  we  hauled  it 
up  and  placed  it  on  top  of  the  cabin.  Swanson  came  along 
with  a  piece  of  small  rope  and  lashed  it  to  a  couple  of 
ringbolts,  allowing  some  slack  for  recoil.  He  then  sent 
Jack  forward  to  get  all  the  old  rusty  bolts  and  nails  and 
other  hard  material  he  could  find,  while  Swanson  and 
Herald  busied  themselves  with  filling  a  woolen  sock  with 
black  powder.  Herald  rammed  the  powder  home  with  a 
piece  of  wood,  after  which  a  ball  of  old  ropeyarn  was 
rammed  into  the  gun.  Jack  brought  a  bucket  of  old  iron, 
from  which  Swanson  picked  out  the  most  suitable  pieces 
and  filled  the  gun  clean  to  the  muzzle.  A  fuse  and  primer 
were  inserted  in  the  fuse  hole  and  a  lanyard  attached,  long 
enough  so  that  the  gun  could  be  fired  from  the  poop  deck. 
Swanson  then  brought  up  a  rifle  and  two  pistols,  all  loaded. 
These  he  placed  on  the  break  of  the  house  and  within 
handy  reach.  He  remarked  to  Herald  that  if  Bully  Hig- 
ginson and  company  were  looking  for  trouble  he  intended 
to  give  them  plenty  of  it.  "  I  don't  intend  to  kill  any- 
body," said  Swanson,  "  but  if  I  do,  it  will  be  their  own 
fault.  I  will  do  my  best  to  give  them  a  scare  such  as  they 
have  never  seen  before." 

The  crew  was  called  aft  and  Swanson  gave  them  some 
instructions,  which  amounted  to  this,  that  when  he  gave 
the  word  they  were  to  throw  anything,  such  as  old  iron  and 


YANKEE    SVVANSON  347 

pieces  of  coal,  on  board  the  Frolic,  but  to  avoid  hitting 
anybody  outside  of  the  captain,  his  wife,  and  three  mates. 

The  Forseite,  now  being  cleared  for  action,  we  went 
about  ship  and  stood  off  on  the  port  tack  in  hot  pursuit  of 
the  enemy. 

The  Frolic  was  a  poor  sailer  on  the  wind.  We  met  her 
after  about  an  hour's  sailing,  and  crossed  her  bow,  clearing 
her  by  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

Swanson  went  about  again,  and  after  having  gathered 
headway,  we  found  ourselves  about  half  a  mile  astern  and 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  windward  of  the  Frolic. 
"  What  a  fine  position  this  is  if  it  were  real  war,"  re- 
marked Swanson.  "  We  could  run  up  and  give  him  a 
broadside  by  easing  her  off  half  a  point.  We  could  go 
under  his  stern  and  rake  him  fore  and  aft,  and  we  could 
ram  and  board  him  at  the  same  time,  if  we  wanted  to ;  but 
we  will  wait  until  he  goes  about  and  all  hands  are  engaged 
at  the  braces;  then  we  will  keep  off  and  run  under  his 
stern  and  give  him  a  shower  of  old  nails  and  stuff  in  the 
tophamper." 

As  we  were  gaining  on  him,  Swanson  told  me  that  I  was 
to  keep  her  up  a  little  and  shiver  the  top  gallantsails  and 
the  royals.  (I  was  at  the  wheel.) 

After  about  an  hour  of  this  sort  of  sailing  Higginson 
decided  to  go  about,  and  Swanson  passed  along  the  word 
to  stand  by  with  coal  and  iron.  He  himself  jumped  up  on 
the  house  and  pointed  the  gun  so  as  to  shoot  on  about  a 
thirty-degree  angle. 

The  Frolic  came  up  in  the  wind  and  there  she  hung;  in 
other  words  she  missed  stays.  This  was  Swanson's  chance, 
and  he  was  not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  it. 

"  Hard  a  starboard,"  said  Swanson.  "  Ease  off  the 
spanker  sheet."  The  Forsette  fell  off  and  headed  right 
for  the  Frolic.  It  looked  as  if  we  were  going  to  ram  her 
amidships. 


348  YANKEE    SWANSON 

As  we  neared  the  Frolic  we  could  see  and  hear  by  the 
language  used  that  everything  was  in  confusion  on  board. 
We  cleared  her  stern  by  about  fifty  feet,  and  as  we  did, 
Swanson  pulled  the  lanyard  and  sent  a  bucketful  of  nails 
and  bolts  through  her  main,  upper  and  lower  topsails. 
Most  of  the  ammunition  handled  by  the  crew  fell  short, 
but  Swanson  picked  up  the  rifle  and  sent  a  couple  of 
bullets  whistling  across  the  poop,  which  gave  us  the  extreme 
pleasure  of  seeing  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Higginson  and  their  three 
mates  stumbling  over  one  another,  seeking  shelter  in  the 
cabin. 

It  was  too  amusing  for  anything.  Swanson  laughed  as 
I  had  never  seen  him  laugh  before.  He  put  his  elbows 
on  the  break  of  the  house  and  buried  his  face  between  his 
big  hands  as  if  to  stifle  the  joy  that  actually  seemed  to 
break  him  to  pieces.  When  he  came  to  himself  again  he 
found  the  Frolic  on  the  port  tack,  and  seeing  the  numerous 
holes  in  her  topsails,  he  had  another  small  fit  of  laughing, 
after  which  he  gave  orders  to  about  ship,  remarking,  "  We 
will  try  him  once  more  to  find  out  if  he  has  had  enough." 

The  Frolic  had  lost  a  lot  of  distance  in  her  failure  to 
come  about.  We  were  still  to  windward  of  her,  and  by 
keeping  everything  full  we  were  gradually  coming  up  on 
her  for  another  attack.  Swanson  was  observing  the  Frolic 
with  the  glasses  as  we  were  approaching,  and  he  found  that 
Captain  Higginson  and  company  were  holding  a  council 
of  war  on  the  poop.  No  preparations  that  Swanson  could 
see  were  going  on  to  renew  hostilities ;  in  fact,  it  looked  as 
if  they  were  inclined  to  treat  for  peace. 

We  were  now  within  hailing  distance.  Swanson  picked 
up  the  rifle  and  jumped  on  top  of  the  house.  He  shouted 
to  Captain  Higginson  to  order  non-combatants  off  the  deck, 
as  he  intended  to  fire  his  Long  Tom,  low  this  time,  with 
the  intention  of  raking  the  decks  fore  and  aft.  Mrs.  Hig- 
ginson made  a  dive  for  the  companionway  and  Higginson, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  849 

assisted  by  his  first  mate,  seemed  in  an  awful  hurry  to  get 
the  wheel  hard  up.  The  spanker  sheet  was  slacked  away, 
the  weather  braces  rounded  in  as  if  by  magic,  and  the 
gallant  Frolic  bore  away  before  it  as  if  pursued  by  the 
devil  himself.  Swanson  made  a  bluff  at  squaring  away, 
also  firing  off  the  rifle  and  put  a  couple  of  holes  in  the  gal- 
lantsails,  but  we  very  soon  hauled  on  the  wind  again,  being 
anxious  not  to  lose  any  distance. 

It  looked  as  if  the  Frolic  intended  to  run  back  to  Cardiff. 
She  did  not  haul  on  the  wind  until  late  in  the  afternoon, 
when  she  was  hull  down,  and  if  ever  a  bully  shipmaster 
got  a  calling  down  it  was  Higginson,  and  the  man  who  did 
it  was  an  old  shipmate  of  his,  Yankee  Swanson. 

By  dark  we  were  out  of  the  Bristol  Channel.  As  the 
wind  hauled  gradually  to  the  northwest,  we  were  able  to 
steer  course  with  the  wind  a  couple  of  points  free.  We 
made  good  time  and  at  noon  the  following  day  we  rounded 
Lands  End.  The  wind  came  out  from  the  SW  and  in- 
creased to  a  gale  with  such  force  that  by  dark  we  were 
running  before  it  under  reefed  topsails  and  reefed  fore- 
sail. Both  watches  were  kept  on  deck  throughout  that 
night,  on  account  of  the  heavy  squalls  that  struck  us  every 
little  while,  and  besides,  the  shipping  was  very  thick, 
steamers  as  well  as  sailing  vessels. 

We  had  one  very  narrow  call  that  night  that  I  shall 
never  forget.  It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  and 
I  had  just  then  relieved  the  lookout.  The  fellow  whom  I 
relieved  cautioned  me  to  sing  out  as  loudly  as  I  could  if  I 
sighted  anything  and  not  to  leave  the  gallant  fo'cs'le  to 
report  to  the  officer,  as  we  had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing 
before. 

The  forestaysail  and  one  jib  were  set,  although  the  wind 
was  dead  aft;  this  as  a  precaution  to  prevent  her  from 
broaching  to,  because  the  old  Forsette  steered  something 
awful  when  deep  loaded,  and  took  as  much  as  three  or 


350  YANKEE    SWANSON 

four  points  on  each  side  of  the  course  with  two  men  at 
the  wheel,  stripped  to  the  shirt  sleeves. 

The  fellow  whom  I  relieved  also  cautioned  me  to  look 
out  for  the  jib  sheet  so  as  not  to  be  knocked  overboard  by 
it,  and  he  started  to  relate  something  about  a  shipmate  of 
his  who  had  been  knocked  overboard  by  the  jib  sheets  under 
exactly  similar  circumstances  as  these. 

He  did  not  have  time  to  finish  the  story.  I  sighted  a 
red  light  right  ahead  and  reported  same  as  loud  as  I  could 
shout.  The  fellow  ran  aft  at  the  same  time,  as  a  precau- 
tion in  case  the  captain  had  not  understood  me.  It  was 
not  necessary  at  all,  for  Swanson  saw  the  light  about  the 
same  time  I  did,  and  he  put  his  helm  hard  aport.  Up 
she  came  until  the  topsails  commenced  to  lift  when  he 
steadied  her,  and  we  just  cleared  the  other  vessel  and  no 
more.  It  was  a  large,  four-masted  ship,  and  she  loomed 
up  immensely  in  the  darkness. 

If  the  westerly  wind  had  lasted  a  few  hours  longer  than 
it  did  it  would  have  taken  us  out  of  the  English  Channel, 
but  no  such  luck.  It  came  out  from  the  eastward  when 
within  thirty  miles  of  Dover.  A  number  of  vessels  of  all 
sizes  and  all  rigs  and  nationalities  were  beating  out  through 
the  Strait  of  Dover,  and  amongst  them  we  discovered  our 
enemy,  the  Frolic.  We  crossed  her  bow  about  a  mile  to 
windward  of  her,  and  we  all  laughed  when  we  saw  that 
she  had  two  old  maintopsails  bent  in  place  of  those  two  new 
ones  Yankee  Swanson  had  put  out  of  commission.  We 
set  our  ensign  by  way  of  greeting,  but  Bully  Higginson 
took  no  notice  of  it.  Swanson  also  ran  up  a  set  of  signals 
informing  Higginson  that  he  would  report  him  upon  his 
arrival  at  Copenhagen. 

We  were  two  full  days  beating  out  through  the  Strait 
of  Dover.  It  was  hard  work  and  raised  the  mischief  with 
our  hands,  going  about  every  two  hours  and  oftener,  if  the 
wind  happened  to  haul  a  little  either  one  way  or  the  other, 


YANKEE    SWANSON  351 

and  Swanson  saw  that  it  would  be  an  advantage  to  get  on 
the  other  tack.  We  were  all  in  good  spirits,  though,  for 
we  were  homewardbound,  and  the  next  lot  of  westerly 
wind  we  got  would  probably  take  us  to  Copenhagen.  On 
the  dog-watches  Herald  would  point  out  to  me  on  the  chart 
what  progress  we  had  made  during  the  last  twenty-four 
hours,  and  it  seemed  awfully  little  to  me,  and  I  wondered 
if  we  ever  would  get  there  at  the  rate  we  were  going. 

Jack  put  Nap  through  a  little  extra  training  every  day. 
He  wanted  to  turn  him  over  to  grandpa  as  nearly  perfect 
as  possible,  and  the  latest  trick  of  usefulness  Jack  had 
taught  him  was  this,  to  carry  a  newspaper  from  the  cabin 
to  the  galley,  and  vice  versa,  I  having  told  him  to  teach 
him  that,  because  my  father  was  in  the  habit  of  sending  one 
of  his  children  down  to  grandpa  with  the  newspaper  after 
he  had  read  it  himself. 

The  westerly  wind  came  along  in  its  own  good  time,  and 
we  squared  away  to  cross  the  North  Sea. 

One  day  we  were  becalmed  for  a  few  hours  and  received 
a  visit  from  a  fishing  smack.  They  came  alongside  in  a 
small  boat  and  made  us  a  present  of  a  batch  of  fish  in 
return  for  a  couple  of  plugs  of  tobacco  and  a  bottle  of  rum, 
which  Swanson  gave  them. 

The  Forsette  was  well  known  on  the  North  Sea,  having 
traded  between  Sweden  and  England  for  so  many  years. 
The  fishermen  said  they  had  read  in  the  newspapers  about 
our  long  passage  from  Russia  and  seemed  to  feel  sorry 
about  Bengston,  whom  they  knew  well.  They  stayed  with 
us  until  the  wind  started  to  freshen,  when  they  said  "  Good- 
bye," and  wished  us  a  quick  trip  home. 

We  carried  fair  wind  from  the  time  the  fishermen  paid 
us  a  visit  until  we  made  The  Skaw  light.  The  lightship 
was  not  on  the  station,  having  been  taken  in  on  account  of 
the  drift  ice  in  Kattegat,  but  signals  from  the  lighthouse 
indicated  that  The  Sound  was  free  from  ice.  This  was 


352  YANKEE    SWANSON 

good  news  indeed.  We  dreaded  to  be  held  up  by  ice  — 
which  is  very  often  the  case  in  that  part  of  the  world,  and 
at  that  time  of  the  year,  especially  if  the  wind  happens  to 
be  southerly  for  any  length  of  time,  which  carries  the  ice 
out  of  the  Baltic  Sea  into  The  Sound  and  Kattegat. 

The  distance  from  The  Skaw  light  to  Copenhagen  is 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  and  to  Hb'ganas 
(my  home),  which  would  be  in  plain  view  from  the  vessel 
if  we  passed  there  during  the  daytime,  the  distance  was 
only  ninety  miles.  When  I  told  my  friend  Jack  about  it 
he  seemed  a  little  surprised  that  we  were  so  near,  and 
when  I  suggested  that  we  would  surely  have  dinner  with 
grandpa  next  Sunday  —  four  days  hence  —  he  shook  his 
head  as  if  in  grave  doubt  about  it  being  true. 

It  was  noon  when  we  rounded  The  Skaw  light.  The 
wind  fell  light  about  that  time,  and  it  looked  questionable 
if  fair  weather  would  continue.  Herald  told  me  that  he 
expected  the  wind  would  come  out  from  the  northward, 
and  if  so,  all  would  be  well. 

We  were  having  our  three  o'clock  coffee  in  the  afternoon 
when  a  fresh  breeze  sprung  up  from  the  NE,  the  very- 
wind  we  wanted.  All  hands  were  roused  to  make  sail, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  while  becalmed  we  had  clewed  up  the 
royals  and  top  gallantsails  to  prevent  them  being  chafed  to 
pieces,  and  the  headsails  had  also  been  hauled  down  for 
the  same  reason. 

The  wind  freshened  up  to  a  brisk  breeze,  and  in  a  little 
while  we  were  going  along  with  everything  drawing.  Her- 
ald told  me  to  go  aft  with  him  to  cast  the  log,  and  she  rolled 
off  her  eleven  knots  strong. 

It  was  my  afternoon  watch  below,  but  I  did  not  feel 
sleepy  at  all.  Jack  and  I  had  too  much  to  talk  about,  and 
I  told  him  that  if  we  made  Kullen  Light  the  next  morning 
he  and  I  would  have  to  spend  the  greater  part  of  the  next 
day  on  the  royal  yards  so  I  could  make  him  acquainted 


YANKEE    SWANSON  353 

with  every  house,  tree,  church  tower,  and  farm  along  the 
coast,  and  last  of  all  my  father's  farm  and  grandpa's  cot- 
tage, all  in  plain  view  from  the  ship. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  sighted  Kullen  Light. 
It  is  a  first  order  one,  visible  about  twenty-five  miles.  I 
roused  Jack  to  have  a  look  at  it,  and  he  turned  out,  rubbing 
the  sleep  out  of  his  eyes  as  he  came  out.  Herald  handed 
him  the  binoculars  and  told  him  to  take  a  good  look  at  it. 

"  How  far  is  that  light  from  grandpa's  cottage  ?  "  asked 
Jack. 

"  About  seven  miles,"  I  answered.  "  Aiid  by  noon,  if 
the  wind  holds  out,  we  will  be  able  to  see  it." 

Jack  felt  like  dancing  a  jig  and  would  have  done  so  if  he 
had  not  been  afraid  of  disturbing  Swanson,  who  had  gone 
to  sleep. 

At  daylight  we  were  abeam  of  Kullen  Light  and  not 
more  than  half  a  mile  off.  It  was  the  first  of  March,  the 
day  grandpa  told  me  in  his  letter  he  would  be  looking  for 
us.  We  set  our  ensign  and  communicated  by  means  of  the 
code  that  everything  was  well  with  us.  Every  one  was 
on  deck,  standing  by,  because  we  expected  to  pick  up  a 
pilot  off  Hb'ganas  to  take  us  through  The  Sound. 

I  borrowed  Herald's  glasses,  and  having  Swanson's  per- 
mission, my  friend  and  I  went  aloft  and  perched  ourselves 
on  the  main  royal  yard. 

We  ran  on  a  parallel  course  with  the  coast  and  about  a 
mile  off  the  beach.  It  was  not  safe  to  go  any  nearer  after 
having  passed  the  light,  on  account  of  the  number  of 
shoals.  However,  it  was  near  enough  for  our  purpose. 

The  weather  was  cold,  but  it  was  a  clear,  beautiful  day. 
The  country  was  covered  with  snow,  which  made  villages 
and  trees  much  plainer.  We  could  even  see  people  and 
horses  on  the  roads.  Jack  was  overjoyed.  It  was  grand, 
he  told  me ;  the  prettiest  he  had  ever  seen. 

Krapperup,  the  country  seat  of  Count  Cyllenstjerna, 


354.  YANKEE    SWANSON 

was  in  plain  view  and  so  were  the  fishing  villages  of  Molle, 
Lerhamn  and  Nyhamn. 

Finally,  there  was  Hoganas  and  the  tall  spire  of  Wasby 
church.  About  half  a  mile  to  the  right  from  the  church 
was  my  father's  farm.  We  could  plainly  see  the  dwelling 
houses,  because  the  leaves  were  off  the  high  poplar  trees, 
one  of  which  I  have  spoken  of  as  my  lookout  tree,  and 
there  a  little  to  the  left  of  the  farm,  also  surrounded  by 
high  trees,  was  my  grandfather's  cottage.  I  handed  the 
glasses  to  Jack  and  directed  him  where  to  look.  He  strad- 
dled the  royal  yard  and  to  give  him  free  use  of  both  hands 
I  passed  the  end  of  a  gasket  around  him  and  the  mast. 
After  a  long  while  he  told  me  he  could  see  another  little 
house  close  by  the  cottage.  I  took  the  glasses  to  scrutinise 
this  new  discovery,  and  found  it  to  be  grandpa's  wood- 
house  and  workshop  combined,  the  place  where  he  kept  the 
all-important  grindstone. 

Tears  of  joy  came  to  my  eyes.  I  tried  to  keep  them 
back,  but  found  I  could  not.  There  was  the  little  wood- 
house,  all  right  —  the  roof,  anyhow,  under  which  I  had 
heard  the  old  man  relate  so  many  strange  things  of  war  and 
hardship.  I  strained  my  eyes  trying  to  get  a  glimpse  of 
the  old  man  on  the  road  to  the  farm,  which  I  could  see,  but 
it  was  in  vain.  Perhaps  he  had  gone  into  the  village  to 
make  enquiries  if  the  Forsette  had  passed,  for  it  was  the 
first  of  March,  and  he  had  promised  to  be  on  the  lookout 
for  us. 

Having  seen  everything  I  could  think  of  pointing  out 
to  my  friend,  we  went  down  to  lend  a  hand  to  back  the 
mainyards.  We  were  up  abreast  of  Hoganas  and  a  pilot 
boat  was  coming  off  toward  us. 

The  pilot's  name  was  Malmgren,  an  old  acquaintance  of 
mine.  After  he  got  the  vessel  on  her  course  and  the  yards 
trimmed  as  he  wanted  them,  he  beckoned  to  me  to  come 
aft  for  a  chat.  He  had  plenty  of  news  that  interested  me. 


YANKEE    SWANSON  355 

Grandpa,  just  as  I  expected,  was  in  the  village  and  had 
given  the  pilot  a  letter  for  me.  The  old  man  wanted  to 
come  off  to  the  ship  with  the  pilot,  just  to  get  a  look  at  his 
boys  and  the  dog,  and  Malmgren  had  had  a  hard  time  of 
it  persuading  him  not  to,  telling  him  that  he  expected  it 
would  be  rough  outside.  Finally  the  old  man  gave  in, 
and  just  wrote  me  a  few  lines. 

Captain  Bengston  had  recovered  from  his  sickness  and 
had  gone  to  England  to  take  command  of  a  new  vessel. 

Swanson  was  to  remain  in  command  of  the  Forsette  per- 
manently. 

My  elder  brother  was  at  the  navigation  school  in  Stock- 
holm, and  everybody  on  the  farm  was  in  the  best  of  health 
and  anxiously  waiting  for  my  return. 

I  introduced  my  friend  to  the  pilot,  who  shook  his  hand, 
and  said  that  he  knew  him  very  well  indeed,  my  grand- 
father having  told  him  all  about  him.  The  pilot  seemed 
very  much  surprised  that  the  boy  could  speak  Swedish  so 
well,  and  said  that  grandpa  would  be  a  little  disappointed 
on  that  score,  because  the  old  man  expected  to  talk  nothing 
but  French  to  the  boy,  to  make  good  his  assertion  that  he 
spoke  French  better  than  Swedish,  old -as  he  was.  I  said 
it  would  not  make  a  particle  of  difference,  because  if  the 
old  man  insisted  on  talking  French,  Jack  would  be  only 
too  happy  to  accommodate  him.  The  pilot  laughed  and 
said,  "  Of  course  it  won't.  It  is  a  lucky  thing  that  the  boy 
can  talk  Swedish.  I  don't  think  the  old  man  can  talk  any 
French ;  he  has  not  spoken  any  since  Waterloo,  he  told  me 
to-day,  and  Waterloo  was  not  fought  yesterday,  either," 
intimated  the  pilot,  with  a  knowing  grin. 

I  went  down  to  the  den  and  opened  the  old  man's  letter. 
It  was  just  a  few  lines,  stating  that  everybody  was  well. 
He  had  wralked  into  Hb'ganas  early  in  the  morning,  expect- 
ing to  get  some  news  about  the  ship,  and  being  told  we  were 
outside,  he  proposed  to  come  off  with  the  pilot  just  to  see 


356  YANKEE    SWANSON 

how  we  boys  were,  but  the  rascally  Malmgren  would  not 
let  him.  He  also  told  me  that  he  had  sort  of  made  up  his 
mind  to  come  over  to  Copenhagen  to  take  us  home,  and  if 
he  did,  he  would  bring  my  little  brother  along,  as  he  had 
been  a  fairly  good  boy  of  late,  and  it  would  do  him  good 
to  see  something  of  the  world. 

Pilot  Malmgren  informed  Swanson  that  the  American 
barque  Frolic  was  lost  on  The  Skaw  three  days  ago,  and 
none  of  the  crew  had  been  saved.  She  ran  on  shore  in  a 
thick  snowstorm. 

Although  no  one  on  the  Forsette  had  any  use  for  Bully 
Higginson  and  company,  we  felt  badly  that  they  had  come 
to  such  an  untimely  end.  Swanson  expressed  himself  as 
being  very  sorry,  and  said  that  he  had  fully  expected  to 
meet  Higginson  in  Copenhagen,  when  they  would  have 
patched  up  their  differences  and  had  a  drink  in  honour  of 
the  little  sea  fight  off  Lundy  Island. 

In  the  afternoon  we  anchored  off  Helsingborg  and  dipped 
our  flag  to  the  Castle  of  Kronborg  of  Hamlet  fame.  Pilot 
Malmgren  left  us  here,  it  being  as  far  as  he  was  allowed 
to  take  us. 

In  the  morning  a  Danish  pilot  came  off  to  the  vessel, 
and  as  the  wind  was  fair,  we  hove  up  anchor  and  crowded 
on  every  sail  we  had. 

That  afternoon  we  came  to  anchor  in  the  Copenhagen 
roads,  off  the  Three  Crowns  Fort,  in  the  very  place  where 
the  immortal  kelson  fought  the  fiercest  of  all  his  battles. 
The  health  officer  and  custom  house  people  boarded  the 
Forsette  and  we  received  pratique  that  afternoon,  but  did 
not  enter  the  harbour.  We  lowered  a  boat,  and  Jack,  two 
seamen  and  myself  put  Swanson  on  shore. 

On  arriving  at  the  landing  place,  Swanson  told  Jack  and 
me  to  go  along  with  him.  He  was  well  acquainted  in 
Copenhagen,  to  judge  by  the  number  of  people  he  met  and 
shook  hands  with,  and  they  all  congratulated  him  on  hav- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  357 

ing  made  a  fine  winter  passage,  and  referring  to  the  awful 
loss  of  the  Frolic. 

We  went  to  a  shipchandler  store  to  which  the  ship's  mail 
had  been  addressed.  While  waiting  for  Swanson  to  com- 
plete his  business  with  the  boss,  a  letter  carrier  came  in 
and  delivered  some  mail.  The  shipchandler  handed  some 
of  it  to  Swanson,  who  after  having  looked  it  over,  beckoned 
to  Jack  and  held  out  a  letter.  Jack  jumped  up,  made  a 
step  or  two  toward  Swanson  as  if  to  receive  the  letter, 
turned  around  and  looked  at  me  with  a  bashful  grin  on  his 
face  as  though  he  had  committed  himself.  There  is  no 
telling  what  he  would  have  done  if  Swanson  had  not  said, 
"  Well,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  Don't  you  want 
your  mail  ? "  Jack  took  the  letter,  and  I  wish  I  could 
describe  the  look  of  that  boy's  face  as  he  sat  down  by  me 
with  the  letter  in  his  hand.  He  gave  it  to  me  and  asked 
me  to  open  it. 

The  letter  was  from  grandpa,  addressed  to  Ordinary 
Seaman  Jack  Le  Fevre,  Barque  Forsette.  I  told  Jack  to 
put  it  in  his  pocket  and  we  would  open  it  after  we  got  on 
board,  which  he  did  after  having  read  the  address  a  few 
times,  looking  at  it  in  all  manners  and  ways  as  if  to  make 
sure  there  was  no  mistake  about  it. 

Swanson  was  watching  the  boy  from  the  corner  of  one 
eye  while  he  was  handling  the  letter,  and  it  must  have 
looked  funny  to  him,  because  I  noticed  a  smile  on  his  face, 
a  smile  which  I  had  learned  to  know  was  a  sure  indication 
of  his  friendly  —  I  might  say  fatherly  —  feeling  for  that 
poor  boy.  We  left  the  shipchandler's  place  and  Swanson 
told  us  to  come  along. 

We  took  the  street  car  and  our  next  stop  was  Hotel  An- 
gleterre,  where  Swanson  found  his  wife  sitting  in  an  easy 
chair  reading  a  newspaper.  Having  embraced  and  kissed 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing  so  dear  to  a  sailonnan's  heart  and 
their  wives,  Mrs.  Swanson  shook  my  hand  and  kissed  me  — 


858  YANKEE    SWANSON 

she  did  indeed.  Swanson  seemed  to  like  it.  I  guess  he 
was  not  jealous  like  some  sailors  I  have  known,  because  he 
told  her  'he  would  not  stand  for  her  making  fish  of 
one  and  flesh  of  another,  meaning  that  she  would  have  to 
treat  Jack  in  a  similar  manner  which  she  did. 

Swanson  sent  me  out  to  get  an  expressman  to  carry  Mrs. 
Swanson's  baggage  down  to  the  boat,  and  giving  Jack  and 
me  a  couple  of  crowns  apiece  with  instructions  to  be  at  the 
boatlanding  at  six  o'clock,  we  left  Swanson  and  his  wife 
and  went  for  a  stroll  in  the  city. 

We  roamed  about  the  city,  took  a  trip  on  a  street  car, 
went  in  and  had  a  square  meal,  and  otherwise  amused 
ourselves  until  it  was  time  to  get  back.  We  arrived  at  the 
landing  a  few  minutes  before  Swanson  and  his  wife  did, 
and  found  that  one  of  the  sailors  had  gone  up  town.  We 
waited  a  few  minutes,  thinking  he  would  get  back,  Swan- 
son  being  a  little  annoyed  about  it. 

"  There  he  comes,"  said  Jack,  and  looking  in  the  direc- 
tion he  pointed,  we  saw  our  sailor  on  the  arm  of  a  police- 
man, in  a  drunken  condition. 

"  Shove  off,"  said  Swanson.  "  We  won't  take  him  along 
to-night,"  and  with  that  we  were  on  our  way  to  the  For- 
sette. 

The  sailor  shouted  for  us  to  come  back,  shaking  his  fist 
and  threatening  to  do  us  up  the  first  opportunity  he  got, 
but  the  policeman  put  a  stop  to  it  for  the  time  being  by 
marching  him  off  to  jail. 

Mrs.  Swanson  had  no  trouble  getting  up  the  Jacob's 
ladder  when  we  got  alongside.  Nap  was  at  the  gangway 
to  receive  us,  wagging  his  tail  by  way  of  welcome.  Mrs. 
Swanson  was  a  little  afraid  of  him  at  first,  having  heard 
so  much  about  the  dog  through  her  husband's  letters. 

Mrs.  Swanson  had  seen  grandpa  in  the  morning  as  she 
started  on  her  trip  to  Copenhagen.  He  wanted  to  come 
along,  but  Mrs.  Swanson  persuaded  him  not  to,  telling  him 


YANKEE    SWANSON  359 

that  she  would  see  to  it  that  we  got  properly  started  for 
home. 

Having  hoisted  the  boat  and  eaten  our  supper,  Jack  and 
I  busied  ourselves  with  reading  the  old  man's  letter.  It 
turned  out  to  be  more  or  less  of  a  conundrum  to  both  of 
us,  being  half  French  and  half  Swedish.  The  Swedish 
part  I  could  manage  well  enough,  but  the  French,portion 
of  it  puzzled  even  Jack,  who  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  French  language  must  have  changed  some  since  Water- 
loo. The  sum  and  substance  of  the  letter  was  in  the  na- 
ture of  a  hearty  welcome  to  Jack  to  come  and  make  him- 
self at  home  with  my  grandparents  as  long  as  he  liked  to 
stay,  and  as  for  the  work  he  would  expect  him  to  do,  that 
would  be  a  mere  nothing  after  they  once  got  the  tools  into 
some  sort  of  shipshape. 

Jack  now  felt  perfectly  satisfied.  He  knew  he  had  an- 
other good  friend  in  my  grandfather,  and  would  not  be 
cast  adrift  in  a  foreign  land.  Out  came  the  tin  whistle, 
and  Mrs.  Swanson,  who  was  of  a  jolly  disposition,  came 
and  opened  our  door,  invited  us  into  the  cabin,  and  asked 
Jack  to  play  something  real  pretty.  He  struck  up  "  The 
Blue  Danube,"  and  Mrs.  Swanson  pushed  a  chair  or  two 
out  of  the  way,  grabbed  her  husband  by  the  hair,  and  made 
him  get  up  and  trip  the  light  fantastic  with  her  on  the 
cabin  floor  of  the  old  Forsette. 

At  daylight  the  following  morning  we  were  aroused  to 
heave  up  anchor.  The  tugboat  came  alongside  and  tied 
up  to  take  us  in.  Herald  said  to  me  before  we  started 
heaving,  "  Well,  Andrew,  I  guess  this  is  the  last  time  you 
and  I  will  do  any  heaving  together,  because  this  afternoon 
we  will  all  be  paid  off  to  go  our  different  ways.  It  has 
been  pretty  hard  graft  for  all  of  us  since  we  left  Norway, 
but  now  since  it  is  all  over  I  would  not  have  missed  it  for 
much.  It  has  been  a  great  experience  for  us  all,  something 
I  know  I  will  never  forget." 


360  YANKEE    SWANSON 

I  asked  Herald  why  he  did  not  remain  by  the  vessel, 
and  he  informed  me  he  could  not  remain  as  mate,  because, 
although  he  knew  all  about  navigation,  he  had  no  certifi- 
cate, and  besides,  the  vessel  would  be  out  of  commission 
until  the  navigation  opened  on  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  that 
would  not  take  place  for  a  month  and  a  half  yet. 

"  We  might  meet  some  other  time;  there  is  no  telling," 
I  said. 

"  I  hope  so,  most  sincerely,"  said  Herald.  "  I  like  both 
you  and  Jack  and  poor  Nap,  to  say  nothing  of  Swanson, 
who  I  have  found  to  be  a  thoroughly  honest,  upright  good 
man.  He  has  been  a  friend  to  all  of  us,  and  I  shall  never 
forget  him." 

I  asked  Herald  what  he  intended  to  do,  and  he  told  me 
he  would  pay  his  passage  to  England,  and  there  get  a  ship 
for  San  Francisco,  where  he  had  some  friends,  and  in- 
tended to  settle  down  for  good. 

"  And  now,  Andrew,  I  want  to  tell  you  something  before 
I  forget.  You  remember  the  strange  imagination  Ericson 
had  about  the  nurse  at  the  hospital  resembling  somebody 
he  knew  ?  "  I  told  him  I  remembered.  "  Well,"  con- 
tinued Herald,  "  I  have  found  out  who  it  is.  It  came  to 
me  in  a  dream  a  few  nights  ago.  It  is  Jack,  that  man 
looked  like,  and  I  am  sure  the  nurse  was  Jack's  father. 
He  told  me  one  day  that  he  belonged  to  the  Channel 
Islands.  Don't  let  Jack  know  what  I  have  told  you;  it 
is  too  late,  and  it  couldn't  possibly  do  any  good  now  and 
would  only  set  him  to  worrying,  but  when  I  get  to  Eng- 
land I  will  try  to  do  something  toward  finding  out,  for  the 
boy's  sake." 

I  was  too  much  taken  aback  to  ask  for  more  information 
regarding  the  nurse,  and  there  was  no  time,  either.  Her- 
ald sang  out,  "  Heave  away."  The  chain  came  in  easily 
on  account  of  being  no  wind  and  shallow  water,  and  early 
in  the  forenoon  we  had  the  Forsette  moored  to  a  wharf 


YANKEE    SWANSON  361 

in  the  harbour,  and  a  shore  gang  on  board  to  start  dis- 
charging. 

In  the  afternoon  we  were  all  paid  off  before  the  Swedish 
consul.  I  had  been  on  board  of  the  Forsette  ten  months 
less  a  few  days,  and  my  friend  had  nine  months  to  his 
credit.  Swanson  gave  us  ordinary  seaman's  pay  for  the 
whole  time  we  had  been  there.  We  had  drawn  hardly 
anything.  What  money  we  had  spent  during  the  voyage 
was  money  we  had  earned  by  doing  a  little  stunt  of  some- 
thing or  another  when  an  opportunity  offered. 

We  were  now  ready  to  pack  up  for  home,  but  Swanson 
advised  us  not  to  be  in  too  big  a  hurry,  but  to  stay  a  couple 
of  days  and  see  the  town.  Copenhagen  is  a  fine  city, 
modern  in  every  respect,  and  the  inhabitants  are  a  pleas- 
ure loving  people.  We  remained  there  a  couple  of  days, 
during  which  time  we  took  in  a  few  cheap  shows  and  other- 
wise amused  ourselves  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  size 
of  our  pocket  books. 

The  Danish  language  being  somewhat  different  from 
Swedish,  Jack  did  not  get  along  as  well  as  he  had  ex- 
pected, I  having  told  him  before  we  arrived  that  I  did 
not  think  he  would  have  any  difficulty  on  that  score.  He, 
therefore,  seemed  anxious  to  be  off  for  home,  and  accord- 
ingly we  spent  Sunday  packing  up.  We  divided  all  our 
many  presents,  so  that  we  would  be  about  equally  well  off 
in  giving  them  away  at  home.  Mrs.  Swanson  assisted  us 
to  some  extent  with  the  presents,  that  is  she  picked  out 
what  would  be  most  appropriate  for  the  different  members 
of  the  family. 

On  Monday  we  went  to  buy  our  tickets  and  had  our  bag- 
gage sent  down  to  the  steamboat  landing.  The  bulkiest 
part  of  the  outfit  was  the  dog  cart,  which  Jack  insisted  in 
taking  along.  It  had  been  stowed  away  in  the  fore  peak 
since  we  left  Archangel,  and  Herald  took  it  apart  and 
made  a  package  of  it.  Swanson  tried  to  persuade  Jack 


362 

to  leave  it  behind,  but  he  would  not  stand  for  it,  giving 
as  his  reason  that  grandfather's  tools  were  in  a  bad  shape 
and  it  would  take  the  old  man  a  long  time  to  make  another 
one. 

All  that  remained  to  be  done  now  was  to  say  "  Good- 
bye" to  our  mutual  old  friend  Swanson.  This  was  not 
an  easy  matter  to  do.  Happy  as  we  were  to  get  away, 
nevertheless,  when  I  held  out  my  hand  to  Swanson,  I  felt 
a  lump  rising  in  my  throat,  and  I  had  hard  work  to  keep 
the  tears  back.  Poor  Jack  made  a  worse  mess  of  it  than 
I.  He  tried  to  say  something  in  Swedish  by  way  of  thank- 
ing Swanson  for  all  his  kindness  toward  him,  but  broke 
down  completely  and  sobbed  like  a  little  baby.  Mrs. 
Swanson  came  to  his  rescue,  at  least  she  attempted  to,  but 
she  too  started  weeping.  The  only  calm  one  was  Yankee 
Swanson,  who  said  we  were  worse  than  a  lot  of  old  women, 
and  thought  such  sadness  was  entirely  out  of  place  now 
when  we  should  all  be  happy.  He  promised  that  he  would 
make  us  a  call  when  he  took  his  wife  home,  which  would 
be  in  another  month  or  so. 

"  I'm  bound  to  see  for  myself,  Jack,  how  you  are  get- 
ting along  with  the  old  veteran,  and  if  you  would  rather 
come  back  to  the  old  Forsette  when  navigation  opens  I  will 
have  a  place  for  you." 

Jack  now  made  Nap  hold  out  his  paw  to  Swanson,  and 
he  also  turned  a  somersault  as  a  final  good-bye,  and  we  left 
for  the  steamboat  landing. 

Herald  was  at  the  landing  to  bid  us  farewell,  and  he 
promised  to  write  us  from  England. 

In  steaming  out  of  the  harbour  we  passed  close  by  the 
Forsette.  Swanson  and  his  wife  were  on  the  poop  wav- 
ing us  good-bye  until  we  were  out  of  sight. 

The  little  steamer  we  were  on  did  not  call  at  our  place. 
The  nearest  to  our  destination  was  Helsingborg,  and  there 
we  disembarked.  Helsingborg  is  a  pretty  little  place,  sit- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  363 

uated  on  the  Swedish  side  of  The  Sound,  and  right  oppo- 
site Helsingborg  is  Denmark.  I  had  been  with  my  father 
a  couple  of  times  to  Helsingborg  before,  but  I  had  no 
friends  or  relatives  living  there,  and  for  that  reason  I  was 
as  much  a  stranger  almost  as  my  friend. 

There  was  no  railroad  at  that  time  between  Helsing- 
borg and  our  place,  and  the  only  way  to  travel  was  by  the 
diligence,  which  left  every  noon,  taking  both  passengers 
and  baggage.  As  the  diligence  had  left  when  we  disem- 
barked, we  engaged  a  room  in  a  hotel  and  stored  away  our 
things,  intending  to  start  the  following  noon.  After  hav- 
ing had  something  to  eat  we  went  out  for  a  walk  to  pass 
away  the  time,  which  dragged  along  very  slowly  indeed 
now  that  we  were  so  near  and  yet  so  far. 

We  took  the  main  street,  which  was  a  continuation  of 
the  highway  on  which  we  would  have  to  travel  to  get  home. 
We  met  a  lot  of  farmers  who  were  coming  to  town  with 
their  live  stock  and  other  produce,  the  next  day  being 
market  day. 

I  sized  them  up  pretty  carefully,  expecting  to  meet 
some  one  I  knew  from  our  place,  thinking  if  I  did  I  would 
be  good  for  a  free  ride  home,  for  the  baggage  anyhow,  and 
besides,  there  was  Xap  to  take  into  consideration.  I  was 
not  certain  if  they  would  allow  him  on  the  diligence. 

Presently  I  saw  in  the  distance  a  heavy  wagon  coming 
along  loaded  with  sacks  of  grain.  I  knew  the  horses  the 
moment  I  saw  them,  as  belonging  to  a  near  neighbour  of 
ours  and  a  friend  of  my  father.  The  farmer  and  his  son, 
a  boy  of  my  age,  were  on  top  of  the  load,  and  as  they  came 
nearer  I  took  off  my  cap  and  waved  it  at  them  by  way  of 
recognition.  The  farmer  did  not  recognise  me  at  first, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  I  had  grown  a  great  deal  since  he 
last  saw  me,  and  besides  I  was  togged  out  in  city  clothes, 
which  made  some  difference  also  I  suppose.  His  son, 
however,  recognised  me  at  once.  We  had  always  been 


364  YANKEE    SWANSON 

chums,  and  I  had  received  several  letters  from  him  during 
my  voyage.  He  was  glad  to  see  me,  of  course,  but  some- 
how or  other  I  detected  a  certain  coolness  in  both  him  and 
his  father  that  I  was  at  a  loss  to  understand.  We  chatted 
for  a  while,  the  farmer  giving  me  the  news  from  home, 
and  asking  a  lot  of  questions,  which  I  answered,  but  as  he 
did  not  volunteer  to  be  of  any  service  to  me  in  regards  to 
transportation,  I  refrained  from  asking  him.  I  felt  I  was 
independent  of  him  in  that  respect.  We  had  money,  and 
besides,  if  I  had  chosen  to  write  to  father  what  day  I 
was  coming  he  would  have  been  there  with  his  rig  to  take 
me  home.  I  felt  badly  on  account  of  Jack,  though.  They 
never  as  much  as  looked  at  him.  I  had  expected  they 
would  have  been  a  little  friendly  and  sociable,  or  in  some 
way  made  him  feel  a  little  at  home,  but  they  did  not. 
Jack  did  not  seem  to  take  it  much  to  heart,  though.  We 
said  "  Good-bye  "  and  left  our  two  unsociable  neighbours 
and  went  about  our  business. 

By  dusk  we  were  back  in  town,  somewhat  hungry  after 
our  long  walk.  We  looked  about  to  find  a  suitable  place 
to  get  something  to  eat,  and  fetched  up  in  a  place  on  the 
water  front,  which  was  patronised  by  sailors.  We  sat 
down  to  a  table  and  ordered  our  supper.  A  young  girl 
brought  us  our  order,  and  I  recognised  her  at  once  to  be 
the  daughter  of  a  poor  shoemaker  and  a  near  neighbour  of 
ours. 

"  Hello,  Anna,"  I  said.  "  How  are  you,  and  how  are 
things  on  the  farm  ?  "  The  girl  looked  at  me  in  astonish- 
ment; she  seemed  really  surprised.  She  took  a  seat  by 
me  and  after  having  sized  me  up  from  head  to  foot,  as  if 
to  make  sure  I  was  all  there.  She  remarked  that  she 
could  hardly  believe  her  own  eyes. 

"  Well,  what  is  wrong  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Nothing,"  she  answered,  "  only  you  are  about  twice 
the  size  you  were  when  you  left,  and  besides  you  have  im- 


YANKEE    SWANSON  365 

proved  in  looks  a  great  deal ;  in  fact,  I  think  you  are  al- 
most good  looking,  and  when  you  left  you  were  the  ugliest 
boy  in  Hb'ganas.  Yes,  indeed,  that's  true,"  went  on  the 
girl.  "  Everybody  said  so,  except  your  grandfather,  he 
thought  you  were  the  best  looking  one." 

I  had  to  laugh  at  the  girl's  outspoken  remarks  and  Jack 
also  smiled,  no  doubt  thinking  that  the  girl  was  uncom- 
monly cruel  in  her  remarks  about  my  looks. 

"  And  is  that  the  French  boy  I  have  heard  so  much 
about  from  your  sisters  and  the  old  grandfather  ? "  asked 
the  girl. 

"  That's  him,"  I  said.     "  Do  you  find  him  ugly,  too?  " 

The  girl  commenced  to  look  him  over  thoroughly  as  if 
she  was  an  authority  on  beauty.  Jack  felt  a  little  em- 
barrassed, and  started  to  pat  Nap,  who  was  sitting  down 
on  his  haunches  waiting  for  something  to  eat. 

"  Well,"  I  said,  "  it  takes  you  a  long  time  to  make  up 
your  mind  about  him.  Hurry  up;  we  are  hungry." 

Anna  reached  over  and  whispered  in  my  ear,  asking  if 
Jack  understood  Swedish.  Understood,  indeed.  "  Why, 
Anna,"  I  answered,  "he  can  talk  it  a  great  deal  better 
than  you,  and  write  it  too." 

Anna  took  another  good  look  at  him,  and  then  whispered 
to  me,  "  That's  the  prettiest  boy  I  have  ever  seen." 

"  Thank  you,  Anna,"  I  said.  "  That  is  real  kind  of 
you  to  say  that.  Now  let  us  eat  in  peace,  and  after  we 
are  finished  come  and  make  us  feel  at  home,  and  we  will 
make  you  a  present  of  something  real  nice  when  you  come 
to  visit  us  on  the  farm." 

"  All  right,"  she  said,  leaving  us  to  ourselves.  But  I 
noticed  her  on  several  occasions  taking  long  side  glances  at 
Jack,  which  he  evidently  was  not  aware  of. 

Having  finished  our  supper,  Anna  came  to  clear  off  the 
table,  and  Jack  took  out  his  purse  to  pay,  but  Anna  inter- 
rupted him,  saying  she  had  taken  the  liberty  to  speak 


366  YANKEE    SWANSON 

to  the  landlady  about  us  being  great  friends  of  hers,  as 
well  as  neighbours,  and  for  that  reason  the  treat  would  be 
on  the  house. 

We  made  some  mild  objections  to  that,  but  Anna  in- 
sisted upon  having  her  own  way,  otherwise  she  would  not 
come  and  speak  to  us  any  more  that  evening. 

All  the  patrons  having  gone,  Anna  came  and  took  a  seat 
by  us.  She  had  been  home  to  see  her  parents  a  few  days 
prior  to  our  meeting,  and  she  had  also  met  my  sisters, 
who  had  told  her  all  about  my  friend  and  myself  being 
expected  to  arrive  home  soon.  I  was  anxious  she  should 
relate  all  this  to  my  friend  by  way  of  getting  him  inter- 
ested and  to  feel  at  home,  and  for  that  reason  I  excused 
myself  under  the  pretence  of  going  out  to  see  about  the 
diligence  and  to  make  arrangements  for  the  next  day. 

I  stayed  away  about  an  hour  and  when  I  came  back  I 
found  the  landlady  and  three  other  girls  besides  Anna 
being  entertained  by  Jack.  He  had  played  several  pieces 
on  the  tin  whistle  and  did  some  dancing,  and  also  put 
Nap  through  any  amount  of  tricks.  Everybody  was  as 
happy  as  could  be,  and  before  we  left  that  evening  Jack 
had  related  to  his  listeners  a  great  part  of  what  we  had 
gone  through  since  he  came  on  board  the  Forsette. 

The  following  day  we  went  back  and  had  our  break- 
fast, having  promised  the  kind  landlady  we  would,  with 
the  understanding  that  we  should  be  allowed  to  pay,  to 
which  she  made  no  serious  objection. 

At  noon  we  were  on  board  the  diligence,  baggage  and 
Nap.  The  driver  informed  me  that  in  case  he  picked  up 
passengers  on  the  way  and  got  crowded  for  room,  Nap 
would  have  to  hike  it,  otherwise  he  would  be  allowed  to 
ride.  I  had  no  objection  to  that,  well  knowing  that  Nap 
would  be  able  to  do  a  little  stunt  like  that,  the  distance 
being  only  about  fifteen  miles. 

After  having  covered  about  half  the  distance,  things 


YANKEE    SWANSON  367 

commenced  to  look  familiar  to  me,  and  I  got  busy  telling 
my  friend  all  about  it.  I  explained  what  sucb  and  such 
a  place  was  and  who  lived  in  it.  He  on  the  other  hand 
asked  all  sorts  of  questions,  and  when  he  saw  a  farm  with 
high  trees  around  it  in  the  distance,  he  would  say,  almost 
gasping  for  breath,  and  seemingly  much  more  anxious 
than  I,  "  That's  the  place,  Andrew,  I  know  it  by  the 
trees." 

"  Not  yet,  Jack,  not  yet,"  I  would  answer.  "  Every 
farm  has  trees  here.  I  will  tell  you  when  we  see  it." 

Words  are  vain  when  a  person  tries  to  express  deep 
emotions,  and  I  have  but  little  hope  of  conveying  to  the 
reader  of  these  pages  the  joy  I  felt,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  the  strange  feelings  under  which  my  dear  friend 
laboured  when  we  sighted  the  old  farm.  Not  the  farm 
alone,  but  on  the  road  which  lead  from  the  farm  and  con- 
nected with  the  royal  road  on  which  we  were  travelling, 
was  seen  an  old  man  and  two  little  children.  They  came 
hurrying  along,  the  children  running  ahead,  shouting  to 
the  old  man  to  make  more  haste,  although  his  military 
stride  would  have  been  a  credit  to  a  man  half  his  age. 

I  did  not  tell  Jack  who  they  were.  There  was  no  need 
of  it.  As  if  by  instinct  and  from  the  minute  description 
I  had  given  him  of  grandpa,  he  recognised  him  as  if  he 
had  been  an  old  acquaintance. 

The  diligence  reached  the  crossroads  before  the  old  man 
and  the  children  did.  The  diligence  stopped  and  the  first 
one  to  alight  was  Nap,  closely  followed  by  Jack  and  my- 
self. We  took  our  baggage  off  and  the  diligence  started 
off  for  Hoganas. 

I  immediately  started  on  a  run  to  meet  the  old  man, 
who  was  still  some  distance  down  the  road.  I  noticed  the 
children  now  hung  back  of  the  old  man  as  if  they  were 
afraid  gf  something.  It  was  my  changed  appearance. 
They  were  not  quite  sure  whether  or  not  it  was  I. 

Overcome  by  emotion,  I  threw  myself  into  the  old  man's 


368  YANKEE    SWANSON 

arms,  while  the  children,  not  knowing  what  to  make 
of  it,  stood  back,  bashfully,  with  their  fingers  in  their 
mouths. 

The  old  man  himself  was  somewhat  overcome.  He 
picked  me  up  as  though  I  were  a  little  baby,  then  held  me 
away  from  him  at  arm's  length  and  scanned  me  most  mi- 
nutely as  if  in  search  of  some  strange  change.  Having 
satisfied  himself  that  I  was  all  right,  he  let  go  of  me, 
which  gave  me  a  chance  to  receive  the  greetings  of  my 
little  sister  and  brother,  who  did  not  seem  to  like  the  way 
the  old  man  monopolised  me.  They  had  such  a  lot  of 
news  to  tell  me  and  they  were  in  such  a  hurry  to  relate  it 
that  they  contradicted  one  another  most  shamefully  in 
such  important  matters  as  whether  mamma's  black  hen 
hatched  out  eleven  chickens  or  an  even  dozen  the  day  be- 
fore yesterday. 

Grandpa  enjoyed  the  argument  with  a  grin  on  his  face 
that  bespoke  contentment.  Every  now  and  then  he  took, 
what  he  was  in  the  habit  of  calling,  a  Marengo  twist  in 
the  moustache,  and  glanced  down  the  road,  where  my 
friend  was  hard  at  work  putting  the  dogcart  together. 

"  Well,"  said  grandpa,  "  we  will  have  plenty  of  time 
to  talk  by  and  by ;  but  that  is  a  mean  way  you  are  treat- 
ing your  friend,  leaving  him  there  by  himself,  poor  little 
stranger.  I'm  anxious  to  find  out  if  he  can  understand 
my  French,"  and  taking  another  Marengo  twist,  he  gave 
the  order,  "  Forward  march." 

The  dogcart  was  loaded  with  the  baggage,  but  as  yet 
Nap  was  not  in  harness,  Jack  expecting  that  he  would  be 
called  upon  to  put  him  through  a  few  stunts  by  way  of 
introduction.  As  we  approached  I  called  out,  "  Nap." 
The  dog  cocked  up  his  ears,  looked  up  at  Jack  as  if  ex- 
pecting instructions  as  to  what  to  do  in  this  particular 
case.  Jack  pointed  toward  us  and  on  came  Napoleon  on 
a  run  to  meet  us.  Seeing  me  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
strangers,  Nap  commenced  licking  their  hands,  a  sure  sign 


YANKEE    SWANSON  369 

that  he  wished  to  be  on  friendly  terms  also.  The  chil- 
dren, as  well  as  grandpa,  thought  he  was  the  finest  dog 
they  had  ever  seen,  and  then,  "  Look  how  far  he  has 
travelled,"  remarked  my  little  sister.  "  He  has  been  to 
Archangel,  and  that  is  almost  as  far  as  to  Moscow,  ain't 
it,  grandpa  ?  " 

"  I  believe  it  is,"  answered  the  old  man,  not  paying 
much  attention  to  their  childish  chatter  just  then.  He 
was  sizing  up  my  friend,  who  stood  to  attention  when  the 
old  man  came  toward  him. 

Grandpa  addressed  my  friend  in  the  French  language 
for  quite  a  little  while.  The  old  man  seemed  to  be  at 
ease.  There  was  no  faltering,  apparently,  that  I  could 
notice,  and  the  old  man  was  elated  at  this  his  first  attempt 
at  it  for  many  years. 

Jack  commenced  to  feel  at  home  at  once,  more  so  after 
the  old  man  had  told  him  that  on  the  splendid  recommenda- 
tion I  had  given  him  through  my  letters,  he  would  be  like 
a  father  to  him  as  long  as  he  felt  like  remaining  at  his 
humble  cottage,  or  until  he  died,  which  he  thought  would 
be  a  long  time  hence,  because  he  felt  much  better  now 
than  he  had  for  years.  And  besides  he  was  only  a  little 
past  ninety-one. 

Jack  tried  to  express  his  gratitude  in  Swedish,  but  as 
usual,  the  tears  came  to  his  eyes,  and  grandpa  put  a  stop 
to  such  foolishness  —  that  is  what  he  called  it  —  by  em- 
bracing him  and  making  my  little  sister  and  brother  kiss 
him. 

We  now  put  Nap  in  harness  and  hitched  him  to  the 
cart.  He  seemed  perfectly  at  home,  although  he  had  not 
been  in  harness  since  we  were  in  Russia.  Jack  proposed 
that  the  little  ones  should  ride,  which  they  thought  would 
be  a  capital  idea,  but  grandpa  thought  it  would  be  too 
much  of  a  load  for  the  dog,  and  it  was  not  until  Jack  had 
explained  that  Napoleon  had  on  one  occasion  in  Russia 
transported  two  big  fat  cooks  and  any  number  of  cooking 


370  YANKEE    SWANSON 

utensils  a  long  distance  before  he  would  consent  to  allow 
the  children  to  ride. 

As  we  neared  the  farm,  the  whole  family  came  out  to 
meet  us.  Father  did  not  exactly  approve  of  the  way  we 
travelled.  I  should  have  written  him  what  day  I  was 
coming  and  he  would  have  been  in  town  with  his  rig  to 
take  us  home,  he  said.  Mother  was  too  happy  to  criticise, 
and  she  laughed  most  heartily  at  our  strange  turnout. 
She  liked  the  looks  of  my  friend,  and  received  him  as  if 
he  had  been  her  own  son.  My  big  sisters  whispered  in 
my  ear  that  Jack  was  the  best  looking  boy  they  had  ever 
seen,  and  I  was  mean  enough  to  repeat  it  so  Jack  should 
hear  it,  whereupon  they  commenced  to  box  my  ears  for 
being  so  indiscreet. 

Arriving  at  the  farm,  and  after  having  liberated  Nap, 
we  all  went  into  the  living-room,  where  a  cheery  fire  was 
burning  in  the  grate.  Grandma  was  sitting  in  the  rocker 
before  the  fire.  She  was  very  near-sighted,  and  did  not 
recognise  me  until  I  had  my  arms  around  her  neck. 
Tears  of  joy  rolled  down  her  wrinkled  cheeks  as  she  told 
how  much  she  had  worried  about  me  while  I  had  been 
away,  thinking  all  the  time  that  something  would  happen 
to  me  and  that  she  should  never  see  me  again.  Grandpa 
interrupted  us  by  telling  his  wife  that  it  was  foolish  to 
carry  on  in  that  manner;  that  she  would  only  spoil  me  if 
she  insisted  on  crying  all  the  time;  at  the  same  time  I 
thought  I  saw  signs  of  a  tear  in  the  old  man's  eye. 

At  .supper  that  evening  we  sat  down  to  the  very  best 
the  house  afforded.  Jack  sat  between  my  grandfather 
and  grandmother,  and  he  and  I  took  turns  relating  our 
experiences  on  sea  and  land. 

After  supper  we  handed  out  the  presents.  ISTo  one  was 
forgotten  and  what  is  more,  everybody  was  satisfied  with 
what  we  gave. 

The  evening  entertainment  wound  up  by  Jack  playing 
a  few  of  his  choice  selections  on  the  tin  whistle,  and  he 


YANKEE    SWANSON  371 

and  I  also  did  a  little  stunt  at  step-dancing,  to  the  great 
amusement  of  the  whole  family. 

It  was  after  midnight  when  my  grandparents,  Jack 
and  Napoleon  took  themselves  off  toward  their  little  cot- 
tage, each  carrying  a  bundle,  and  Nap  running  ahead  with 
a  newspaper  in  his  mouth. 

The  first  month  following  our  homecoming  was  one 
continual  round  of  pleasure.  It  was  the  month  of  March, 
but  King  Frost  still  held  sway.  The  lake,  distant  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  farm,  was  frozen  over  and  just  ideal 
for  skating.  In  the  evening,  especially  if  it  was  moon- 
light, the  young  folks  and  many  of  the  old  ones  would 
assemble  and  skate ;  sometimes  we  kept  on  up  to  midnight. 

My  friend  was  now  thoroughly  at  home.  He,  as  well 
as  the  faithful  Napoleon,  were  in  evidence  everywhere, 
and  better  still,  everybody  liked  them.  No  little  social 
gathering  was  complete  without  them,  and  grandpa  got 
his  full  measure  of  enjoyment  also  from  the  fact  that  his 
adopted  son  was  so  well  received  everywhere,  he  having 
on  one  occasion  expressed  some  doubt  as  to  how  the  coun- 
try people  would  receive  him,  they  as  a  rule  being  narrow- 
minded. 

Jack  and  I  made  any  number  of  calls,  all  of  a  social 
character,  except  one,  which  we  made  the  day  after  our 
arrival,  when  we  visited  Mrs.  Ericson  to  offer  our  con- 
dolence in  her  great  loss  of  her  son,  our  former  second 
mate  and  her  only  support.  I  shall  not  dwell  on  her  sor- 
row, which  was  heart-breaking  when  I  repeated  the  words 
her  son  had  asked  me  to  carry  to  her;  nor  upon  the  sweet 
smile  which  spread  over  her  wrinkled  face  when  my  friend 
refuted  the  wicked  charges  which  the  scoundrel  Axel  had 
spread  broadcast  through  the  village.  She  gave  me  her 
son's  last  letter,  which  was  written  a  few  days  before  his 
death,  and  asked  me  to  read  it  to  her,  she  explaining  that 
she  had  some  difficulty  in  reading  it.  I  did  my  best,  but 
I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  could  not  make  anything  intelli- 


372  YANKEE    SWANSON 

gent  out  of  it.  Our  former  cook  would  most  likely  Have 
pronounced  it  all  fish  hooks. 

One  day,  in  company  with  grandpa,  we  paid  a  visit  to 
our  pastor.  The  old  man  had  an  object  in  view  in  this 
visit,  which  was  this:  he  intended  that  Jack  should  go 
through  the  same  study  preparatory  to  receiving  the  Holy 
Sacrament  under  the  pastor's  supervision,  which  I  and 
other  children  of  my  age  were  then  receiving.  The  pas- 
tor was  a  little  dubious  if  it  would  be  a  safe  thing  to  do, 
considering  that  he  did  not  know  anything  about  the  boy, 
and  besides  the  boy  was  not  a  member  of  his  flock.  The 
old  man  pooh-poohed  such  small  trifles  as  being  narrow- 
minded,  and  insisted  on  Jack  being  put  through  and  be- 
coming a  member  of  his  flock,  the  same  as  I.  "  It  is  only 
for  the  looks  of  things,"  said  grandpa.  "  He  will  go  to 
Heaven  without  it,  and  you  know  it ;  and  as  for  informa- 
tion if  you  require  any  to  put  the  thing  through,  I  can 
tell  you  this  much,  that  his  father  died  fighting  for 
France,  and  if  you  have  any  respect  for  an  old  warrior 
who  fought  ten  years  in  the  Napoleonic  ranks  and  on 
several  occasions  under  the  very  eye  of  the  great  master 
himself,  and  this  with  the  sole  object  in  view  of  prevent- 
ing the  likes  of  you  and  I  from  becoming  slaves  to 
bigotry  and  the  nobility  of  Europe,  you  will  surely  grant 
me  this  little  favour." 

The  good  pastor  was  a  well-meaning  man.  He  had  not 
the  slightest  idea  of  offending  or  showing  disrespect  to- 
ward the  old  man  whom  every  one  in  the  community  had 
the  greatest  respect  for.  He  told  the  old  man  that  every 
word  he  had  just  spoken  was  the  gospel  truth  and  that  he 
himself  was  an  admirer  of  Napoleon.  "  But  the  question 
is  this,"  went  on  the  pastor,  "  is  the  boy  smart,  and  do 
you  think  he  is  able  to  master  all  that  I  shall  require  of 
him?  You  must  know  I  can't  put  him  through  blind- 
folded; this  is  no  play,  you  know  that." 

"  Well,"  said  grandpa,  "  of  course  I  don't  know  what 


YANKEE    SWANSON  373 

you  would  call  play,  but  this  little  matter  of  putting  him 
through  I  don't  consider  of  such  moment  anyhow.  I  will 
be  thankful  to  you  if  you  will  promise  to  let  him  start  in 
as  soon  as  convenient.  As  for  being  smart,  we  will  leave 
that  to  Jack.  I  have  never  seen  anything  better  at  the 
grindstone;  and  as  for  training  dogs  and  pigeons  he  can't 
be  beat." 

The  pastor  laughed  most  heartily  at  the  old  man's  idea 
of  smartness,  and  promised  that  Jack  should  come  with 
me  to  our  next  meeting,  which  took  place  the  following 
afternoon. 

Jack,  as  usual,  made  good,  and  came  through  with  fly- 
ing colours,  after  which  he  was  enrolled  as  a  member  of 
the  community. 

One  evening  we  were  all  assembled  in  the  living-room. 
We  had  what  we  would  call  a  good  time,  some  singing  and 
dancing,  and  Nap  was  doing  tricks.  I  had  then  already 
made  up  my  mind  to  go  to  England  and  from  there  make 
my  way  to  the  Land  of  the  Free.  As  yet  nothing  had 
been  said  as  to  whether  Jack  was  to  go  along  or  not.  I 
had  always  refrained  from  asking  him  myself,  for  the 
reason  that  I  could  read  between  the  lines  that  grandpa 
would  be  lonesome  if  Jack  left,  the  old  man  being  so  at- 
tached to  him.  However,  on  this  evening,  my  mother, 
who  loved  Jack  almost  like  her  own,  pulled  the  boy  to 
her  side  and  said,  "  Jack,  I'm  sure  you  will  be  almost  as 
sorry  as  I  am  when  Andrew  leaves  us."  Jack  looked  at 
me  for  a  moment,  then  took  a  swift  glance  about  the  room. 
Everybody,  including  grandpa,  who  was  silently  sitting  in 
a  corner  smoking,  was  wondering  what  the  answer  would 
be.  "  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  I  will  be  very  sorry,  but  not 
as  sorry  as  if  I  had  to  leave  grandpa."  Grandpa  got  on 
his  feet  and  kissed  his  boy. 

I  have  now  come  to  the  end  of  my  story  —  my  first 
voyage  to  sea,  and  six  months  in  the  bosom  of  my  family 
will  expire  before  I  set  out  again  to  roam  the  briny.  In 


374  YANKEE    SWANSON 

the  meantime  we  had  a  call  from  Yankee  Swanson,  who 
paid  us  a  visit  before  taking  the  old  Forsette  up  the  Baltic 
Sea  to  load  lumber  for  Grangemouth. 

We  spent  a  very  agreeable  day  together,  talking  over 
old  times.  Swanson  accompanied  grandpa  down  to  the 
cottage  to  see  the  new  dog  house,  and  to  pass  his  opinion 
on  the  splendid  condition  of  the  tools,  which  the  old  man 
said  had  never  been  better.  Swanson  got  in  the  good 
graces  of  the  old  man  by  saying  that  he  had  never  seen 
things  in  general  in  better  shape  than  he  found  at  the 
cottage,  and  grandpa  on  the  other  hand  gave  his  boy  Jack 
all  the  credit  for  it,  stating  that  it  would  be  almost  impos- 
sible for  him  to  get  along  without  the  boy,  and  for  that 
reason  asked  Swanson  as  a  favour  not  to  advise  Jack  to 
go  to  sea  any  more.  Swanson  replied  that  it  would  be  a 
crime  to  give  the  boy  any  such  advice,  not  that  he  had 
not  plenty  of  pluck  and  all  that  sort  of  thing  so  necessary 
for  a  sailor,  but  that  he  was  too  tender-hearted  to  follow 
the  sea,  and  besides  he  had  plenty  of  brains  that  could  be 
put  to  better  use  on  land. 

The  day  before  I  left  my  home  for  a  second  cruise  I 
went  down  to  grandpa's  cottage  to  pay  them  a  last  visit. 
I  found  them  all  in  the  woodshed,  grandpa  and  Jack 
sharpening  tools  and  grandma  brushing  Napoleon's  hair. 
I  watched  them  a  long  time  through  a  crack  in  the  wall, 
and  when  their  work  was  done  the  old  man  suggested  that 
Jack  play  something.  This  was  immediately  acted  upon, 
and  grandpa's  favourite,  "  The  Marseillaise,"  was  executed 
with  a  great  deal  of  vim,  Jack  blowing  and  the  old  man 
taking  Marengo  twists  in  his  moustaches  and  singing: 

Aliens,  enfants  de  la  patrie ! 

Le  jour  de  gloire  est  arriv6. 
Centre  nous  de  la  tyrannic, 

L'6tendard  sanglant  est  levS, 

Tremblez,  tyrans!  et  vous  perfides!  etc. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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